Buying Bitcoin

valiant24

Not looking for any advice on whether it's a good idea or not thanks ...

I want to buy a significant amount of Bitcoin, say tens of thousands.   It's not easy!   My main bank, First Direct, has limits (supposedly £2,500 in any one transaction and £10,000 in any 30-day period); and I read that Chase, where I also have an account, won't allow them at all!

So if the banks won't facilitate significant payments how does one set about buying a large amount?

Thanks
V

masonic

The FCA doesn't want banks and building societies facilitating such transactions, because the last thing we need is banks having to bail out customers losing money on crypto and loading their costs onto other customers. That means you are likely to see similar results across the industry. To circumvent that, you'd either need to move into the jaws of money transfer services operating on an e-money registration in the UK, or an offshore bank account in a more crypto-friendly jurisdiction. Or you could just buy £10k's worth per month.

Then prepare for the headache of trying to get a UK bank to receive the proceeds of your activities some years down the line.

valiant24

The site I've used up until now (Bittylicious) allows purchase only through "A UK bank account with online banking fully set up/Payment must come directly from the Bittylicious account holder - no third party payments".

I'd like to stick with them because thus far they've been fast, accurate and honest.

I'm not convinced about the liability to the banks.   There again, having read with growing incredulity The Telegraph's "Consumer Champion" persuading bank after bank to refund sometimes hundreds of thousands to the most gullible people who have fallen for the most implausible scams, I begin to wonder if we all now are expected to be protected from the consequences of our actions, no matter what the circumstances and no matter how bone-headed the customers' actions!

Currently, First Direct are saying that there is no restriction on receiving into your account the proceeds of crypto transactions.

I wonder what will happen if I don't say it's a crypto transaction but just say it's buying goods and services ...?

gt94sss2

valiant24 said:

I wonder what will happen if I don't say it's a crypto transaction but just say it's buying goods and services ...?

First Direct will know who the beneficiary is. If you say it's for buying goods and services and not cryptocurrency that will just raise more red flags.

valiant24

gt94sss2 said:

valiant24 said:

I wonder what will happen if I don't say it's a crypto transaction but just say it's buying goods and services ...?

First Direct will know who the beneficiary is. If you say it's for buying goods and services and not cryptocurrency that will just raise more red flags.

I'm not convinced that First Direct can both know who the beneficiary is, yet be unable to verify that the account name matches its details.

As it happens, I was able to buy £5,000 this evening (after failing to buy £11,000), which is double FD's stated limit, so time will tell .....

flaneurs_lobster

valiant24 said:

The site I've used up until now (Bittylicious) allows purchase only through "A UK bank account with online banking fully set up/Payment must come directly from the Bittylicious account holder - no third party payments".

Forgive me a flippant comment - you trust your money to a site called "Bittylicious"?

Couldn't they have come up with something with just a tad more gravitas.

valiant24

flaneurs_lobster said:

valiant24 said:

The site I've used up until now (Bittylicious) allows purchase only through "A UK bank account with online banking fully set up/Payment must come directly from the Bittylicious account holder - no third party payments".

Forgive me a flippant comment - you trust your money to a site called "Bittylicious"?

Couldn't they have come up with something with just a tad more gravitas.

Probably.  And they probably should, since they're quite expensive but their schtick is UK-based, accepting payments only through UK banks etc, so obviously attempting to appear quite conservative.

Been using them for 3 years and not a hint of an issue thus far to be fair.

london21

Seems you have already made up your mind. Do not rush into it.

"Whenever you invest in crypto you should see prominent warnings about the risk of losing your money, and you shouldn’t be offered any free gifts to join or refer a friend bonuses." 

 

"If you don’t see these warnings and are offered an incentive to invest it means the company offering your investment isn’t following our rules, and could be illegal, or even a scam. 

Even with these new rules, crypto still remains high risk with no protections if something goes wrong."

https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/crypto-basics 

valiant24

london21 said:

Seems you have already made up your mind. Do not rush into it.

"Whenever you invest in crypto you should see prominent warnings about the risk of losing your money, and you shouldn’t be offered any free gifts to join or refer a friend bonuses." 

 

"If you don’t see these warnings and are offered an incentive to invest it means the company offering your investment isn’t following our rules, and could be illegal, or even a scam. 

Even with these new rules, crypto still remains high risk with no protections if something goes wrong."

https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/crypto-basics 

Thanks.  As I said at the very start, I'm not looking for advice as to whether it's a good idea or not.  I completely understand that it's risky, I might lose all my "investment", and wouldn't dream of risking more than 1-2% of my total investments.

I'm just looking for guidance on the best way to do it, given that my bank is being obstructive.

Aretnap

masonic said:

Then prepare for the headache of trying to get a UK bank to receive the proceeds of your activities some years down the line.

Of course depending on what happens in the world of crypto, this might not turn out to be much of an issue. 

400ixl

Hate to even suggest it as they are the most unethical of  institutions on the planet, but what about doing it via Revolut?