There may come a time when you need to convert your Bitcoin into fiat or another cryptocurrency.

Perhaps you want to realise a profit, simply need the cash, or believe another cryptocurrency offers more potential.

There are several different ways you can sell Bitcoin, and there are also lots of exchanges that enable you to convert Bitcoin into fiat currency such as GBP or another cryptocurrency like Ethereum.

The first step is to ensure the timing is right and thats where a Bitcoin calculator comes into play.

Bitcoin calculators

Bitcoin calculators are an essential tool if youre considering converting Bitcoin to cash because they show you how much currency youll get for your Bitcoin.

Since the price of Bitcoin is extremely volatile, its important to check its conversion rate in real time. This will ensure you dont end up cashing in at the wrong moment for example, when Bitcoins value has just plummeted.

There are a whole host of free Bitcoin calculators available on the web which let you convert Bitcoin to and from a range of world currencies using up-to-date exchange rates.

You can check the live Bitcoin rate with GBP, EUR, USD, JPY, and lots more fiat currencies. Some calculators also show the closing rate of the previous day as well as the highest and lowest rates of the conversion.

If you think the price is worth it, the next step is to make a Bitcoin conversion.

Converting Bitcoin to fiat

The main method of converting Bitcoin to fiat is to sell it on a cryptocurrency exchange. A crypto exchange lets you quickly and easily exchange your Bitcoin for a wide range of world currencies. The exchange essentially acts like a middleman between you and the buyer and will take a cut via trading fees.

To sell your Bitcoin, you will need to set up an account with the exchange of your choice. This will involve going through an identity verification process and connecting your bank account to the exchange.

Once completed, you can then make a sell order by entering the amount and type of coin you wish to sell (in this case BTC) and selecting the fiat currency you wish to receive.

Once the cash funds are in your account you can withdraw them to your connected bank account a process that could take up to a week to complete.

There are other ways to make a Bitcoin conversion for example, through a peer-to-peer platform, via a Bitcoin ATM, or through a direct trade with another person.

The right method for you will depend on factors such as how quickly you want to sell your Bitcoin, whether you want to secure the market rate, and the fees youre willing to pay.

Converting Bitcoin to other crypto

Although most people who make a Bitcoin conversion do so in order to get cash, there might be instances where you want to exchange your Bitcoin for another cryptocurrency such as Ethereum or Litecoin. Again, you will need to head over to a cryptocurrency exchange.

The first step is to find an exchange that supports your chosen Bitcoin trading pair. There are a vast number of exchanges in existence and, together, they let people exchange Bitcoin for hundreds of altcoins, so this step should be relatively straightforward.

Once youve selected an exchange, you can sign up for an account with your personal details and proof of ID.

The next step is to deposit Bitcoin into your exchange account. On most exchanges, you select the deposit button, choose Bitcoin as your deposit currency, and copy the account address shown.

You then need to open up the external wallet youd like to send your Bitcoin from, enter the account address, and press send.

Once the Bitcoin has arrived in your account, you can begin the exchange process. You simply navigate to the currency pair you wish to trade for example BTC to ETH and then enter the amount of BTC you want to convert and click sell.

To avoid the risk of being hacked, its recommended that you transfer your new crypto from the exchange into a secure, external wallet for safe storage.

The post How to make a Bitcoin conversion appeared first on Coin Rivet.

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How to make a Bitcoin conversion - Yahoo Finance

Illustration by Elias Stein

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Two years ago last week, Bitcoin peaked at $19,783, after starting 2017 at about $1,000. Since then, prices have fluctuated wildly, falling 73% in 2018 and rising 85% this yearbut they have not come close to retesting previous highs. Recently, Bitcoin was trading near $7,000.

An investor who bought early in 2017 would still be up more than 500%. But thats not the whole story. Dan Wiener, chairman of Adviser Investments and founder of the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, analyzed Bitcoin price movements since the start of 2017 and found that the average five-day rolling return was 1.5%. But the range of five-day gains and losses was enormous, with a high of 47% and a low of minus 29%. And investors lost money 45% of the time when they held Bitcoin for 10 days, he calculated.

Beyond the price action, the biggest change since 2017 is Bitcoins rising competition. Two years ago, the market was awash in initial coin offerings for currencies expected to challenge Bitcoins dominance. But Bitcoin still accounts for 67% of the market value of cryptocurrencies, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoins real competition now comes from companies looking to use blockchain technology to create currencies, and governments that want to produce digital coins backed by their treasuries. Will the dominant coin be decentralized like Bitcoin, corporate-backed, or government-controlled?

Facebooks Libra project has run into regulatory issues, but could launch as soon as next year. China has been working on digital currencies since 2014 and has reportedly accelerated efforts this year.

The Census Bureau reports new-home sales data for November. Consensus estimates are for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 730,000 new homes sold, roughly even with Octobers figure. That estimate would be about an 11% increase from November 2018s 657,000 rate. In October, the average price for a new house was $383,300 while the median price was $316,700.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago releases its National Activity Index for November. Economists forecast a negative 0.1 reading, similar to the October data. The index has had a negative reading every month this year except for June and August, after having three negative reading in 2018. This indicates that the economy, while still growing, is decelerating.

The Census Bureau releases its Durable Goods report for November. New orders for durable manufactured goods are expected to jump 1.6% after a 0.5% rise in October. Excluding transportation, new orders are seen edging up 0.2%. This compares with a 0.5% gain in October, as well.

Trading ends early, at 1 p.m., on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Composite for Christmas Eve. The bond market closes at 2 p.m.

The Bank of Japan releases minutes from its monetary-policy meeting at the end of October.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond releases its Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing for December. Expectations are for a 3.0 reading, up from Novembers minus 1.

Markets all over the world, including in the U.S., are closed in observance of Christmas Day.

China hosts a trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea in the southern city of Chengdu. The two-day confab convenes on Dec. 24. and concludes on Dec. 25. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are scheduled to attend. The denuclearization of North Korea and ongoing trade war between Japan and South Korea will be among the topics for discussion. In August, Japan removed South Korea from its list of trusted trade partners. Seoul followed suit the next month. The root of the disagreement is over Japans compensation of forced Korean laborers during World War II.

Many bourses, including those in Canada, England, and Hong Kong, are closed in observance of Boxing Day.

The Department of Labor reports initial jobless claims for the week ending on Dec. 21. The four-week moving average of claims is 225,500.

Pivotal Software holds a special shareholder meeting in San Francisco to seek approval for a proposed merger with VMware. In August, VMware announced a cash and stock offer for Pivotal Software valued at $2.7 billion.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration releases its Petroleum Status report for the week ending on Dec. 20.

Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com

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Bitcoin Hit Its All-Time High in 2017. Here Comes New Competition. - Barron's

I am pretty confident we are the new wealthy elite, gentlemen, even with a sum as small as 10 bitcoins The world just isnt going to be the same and we have been blessed as the pioneers. When these remarks were made in June of 2011, they seemed hopeful to the point of delirium. Commencing a thread on the Bitcointalk forum, the declaration triggered a wide-ranging discussion about Bitcoins potential in the years to come, with the thread eventually topping out at 232 pages. Opinion was divided, but looking back, that anonymous posters prediction was prescient.

Also read: Bitcoin History Part 21: Miners Pour One out for Satoshi

When the original poster wrote The world just isnt going to be the same, he wasnt talking about politics, war or ever more powerful AI systems: he was forecasting a time when cryptocurrency powers the global economy, with bitcoins price steadily rising in line with demand. In an attempt to inspire some smug bonhomie about this notion, the poster proclaimed We have been blessed as the pioneers before asking what the others were going to do with their Bitcoin wealth once your coins hit upwards of $10,000 a pop.

As we know, that prediction was accurate: bitcoin hit its all-time high of $20k on December 18, 2017, just six-and-a-half years after the post, at which time a single BTC cost a mere $22.59. That figure might seem insignificant now, but context is required: bitcoin failed to exceed a dollar the year before (2010), its highest price being just $0.39. Bitcoins rise above $20 was aided by a Gawker story published on June 1, which cited the cryptos popularity on Silk Road. Perhaps it was this rapid growth that convinced our would-be clairvoyant that the era of a new wealthy elite was on the horizon.

As is often the case with old Bitcointalk threads, reading the posts can be an amusing and instructive exercise. To think that not so long ago I was paid 50 BTC for two hours of work, mused one poster, JamezQ. Another, billyjoeallen, pledged his commitment to the cause, sounding for all the world like a broken hero on a last chance power drive: I dont care about the busts. Im riding this pig wherever it takes me. If it tanks, Ill have a helluva story to tell. Im sick of half measures. Im swinging for the fences and if I strike out, so be it. I wont be some mediocre drone living a life of quiet desperation. I believe in bitcoin and Im going for broke, knowing the risks.

Of course, there were a few people predicting crazy bitcoin growth in those heady days. One of them was self-professed philosopher and investor Trace Mayer, who had been recommending his followers buy bitcoin since it was $0.25. Mayers giddy predictions were just too much for some people to stomach, motivating an outraged riposte from one triggered Reddit user. Another vocal proselytizer was Bruce Wagner, host of The Bitcoin Show, who told wired.com, I knew bitcoin wasnt a stock and wouldnt go up and down. This was something that was going to go up, up, up.

The bitcoin phenomenon had gone overground in 2011: in August, the first Bitcoin World Conference and Expo got underway in east Midtown, and The New Yorker sought to scrutinize the landscape with a satirical eye, publishing a piece that fall called The Crypto-Currency. It concludes with an amusing story about an eager bitcoin miner named Kevin Groce, who referred to mining as the new moonshining and liked to walk around in a t-shirt emblazoned with the words Bitcoin Millionaire.

Presumably at the time, readers were compelled to chuckle at the dreamer with a wanderlust glint in his eye. But Groces conviction, like the clairvoyant on Bitcointalk, was unshakeable: My fiance keeps saying shed rather I was just a regular old millionaire. But maybe I will be someday, if these rigs keep working for me.

Outlandish predictions of wealth for bitcoin holders would become the norm in the years that followed that historic Bitcointalk post. At the time of writing, John McAfee reckons bitcoin will hit $2 million per coin by the end of 2020, an increase on his $1 million prediction in 2017. Bayern LB, one of the top German banks, is a little less audacious, predicting that bitcoin will reach $90,000 come May. Whatever the case, the idea of a new wealthy elite is no longer a pipe dream for those with the perspicacity to have gotten in on the investment of the decade.

Bitcoin History is a multipart series from news.Bitcoin.com charting pivotal moments in the evolution of the worlds first cryptocurrency. Read part 21 here.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He's previously written whitepapers for blockchain startups and is especially interested in P2P exchanges and DNMs.

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Bitcoin History Part 22: The New Wealthy Elite - Bitcoin News

The price of Bitcoin fell to $6,500 range on December 18, soon thereafter, the price saw a spontaneous rise to $7,400, a 15% pump in 10 hours. With longs hitting an all-time high on Bitfinex, this unexpected surge in BTCs price saw huge liquidations of Bitcoin longs on BitMEX.

For now, Bitcoins price moves comfortably sideways forming a pattern that is indicative of a bullish breakout in the near future. Bouncing within the pattern, BTC has dipped below the 50-hour MA [blue], which looks like a brief dip. In case of bearish pressure, a successful dip into the 50-hour MA [pink], the 100-hour MA will support the price just below the $7,000-range.

The MACD and the RSI for this chart are both receding, indicating an onslaught on bearish pressure, however, the OBV indicator is still moving sideways after hitting a peak of $185k, indicating that the bulls have equal pressure as the bears.

The breakout, at press time, could go either way, however, ascending triangles usually have a bullish bias. Assuming a bullish break, the next stop for Bitcoin would be the prior peak of $7,400, which is an area of high resistance, at least until, $7,700.

Things start to look a little different on the daily chart as the recent dip down to the $6,500 caused the 50 moving average to dip further below causing the already existing death cross chasm to widen a little more, further bolstering the bearishness in the market.

Moreover, BTC on the daily time frame is stuck between a mixture of a descending channel and a falling wedge, both of which are bullish patterns. Supporting this is the bullish OBV indicator. However, both MACD and the RSI indicate the bearishness to come.

Bitcoins final confirmation for a bearish outlook in the long term is the hash ribbons, which are indicative of the miner capitulation. Confirming this is the Bitcoin dominance, which has hit a ceiling yet again at 68.1%.

Short-term future for Bitcoin indicated a possible pump up to $7,400 in the next 24-hours, further bullish momentum could push the price to $7,700.

Long-term future for Bitcoin is still uncertain. There is a possibility that Bitcoin might undergo a short-term dump back to the $6,500 zone and push as high as $8,500 hitting the upper band of the descending channel.

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Bitcoin may revisit $7,400-$7,600 zone in the next 24 hours - AMBCrypto

With bitcoin first dipping, then spiking up 10% yesterday, we're talking market action, new Federal Reserve comments, the challenges of exchange and taking a look at CoinDesk's annual most influential list...

No time to listen? Scroll down for the full episode transcript with links.

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On Todays episode, its Bitcoins BIg Bounce, DEXs and CEXs, and a look at our Most Influential of 2019 list.

Adam B. Levine: Its December 19, 2019, and youre listening to Markets Daily, Im Adam B. Levine, editor of Podcasts here At Coindesk, along with our senior markets reporter, Brad Keoun, to give you a concise daily briefing on crypto markets and some of the most important news developments in the sector over the past 24 hours.

Adam: We kick things off with Brad, whos been watching the action in the overnights.

(MARKET UPDATE) SEGMENT 1

Brad Keoun: December is often a key month in the bitcoin market - it was Dec 2017 when BTC reached its all-time-high of $20k, and it was in Dec of last year that the market bottomed at $3000.

For the past couple weeks, bitcoins price charts have been sending bearish signals, with the market trending lower

Piling on, Arcane Research of Norway wrote that the market was registering "extreme fear"

But then on Wednesday, the price suddenly jumped more than $600 for a 10% gain, the most seen in two months

Today, the bitcoin price appears to be down just a touch, currently around $7200

CoinDesks Omkar Godbole writes that Wednesdays spike has neutralized the immediate bearish case, in terms of the signals from price charts, but bitcoin would have to jump another $770 to pass $7,780 to confirm the start of a bullish trend

Adam: Turning to the news, there continues to be a stream of negative pronouncements about digital assets emanating from U.S. officials and regulators

U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard warned Wednesday in a speech that the Facebook-led Libra project has a core set of legal and regulatory challenges ahead.

She said more clarity is needed about the basket of currencies underlying the stablecoin and that its model is still unproven.

And Internet startup Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) agreed to pay $250,000 to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for launching an initial coin offering without registering the token as a security with the regulator.

Brad: Even so, the traditional financial industry continues to show keen interest in blockchain technology

Accounting multinational EY on Thursday released new code that it claims can reduces the cost of transacting on the ethereum blockchain by as much as 90 percent, by batching multiple transfers into a single transaction

Adam:Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, a key player in Wall Streets clearing of bond trades, predicts digital assets will have a big year in 2020

Mike Bodson, the companys CEO, says next year will be QUOTE dominated by the impact of geopolitical events, digitization and tokenized securities END-QUOTE

And an executive with Fidelity, the money management giant, envisions a future where cryptocurrency custodians will work behind the scenes, whitelabeling services in the way that supermarkets put brands on generic food packaging

Brad: Finally, CoinDesk reports that the privacy coin Moneros lead maintainer is stepping down after five years at the helm

Riccardo Spagni, better known by his alias Fluffypony, plans to continue his association with Monero but will turn the day-to-day leadership over to a longtime contributor to the community

Spagnis other business ventures include no fewer than three crypto startups, and he told CoinDesk more than a year ago that the monero leadership left him feeling exhausted

Spagni says hes making the change now to QUOTE better streamline developments and collaborations END QUOTE

Adam: For todays featured story, were joined again by CoinDesks Markets Reporter Sebestian Sinclair for a look into Centralized, and Decentralized exchange

Sebastian Sinclair: Thanks Adam

For the first time in history, cryptocurrencies allow us to control our assets without having to rely on third parties such as banks or brokers.

This has been achieved through blockchain technology, offering participants a way to tap into decentralized networks via peer to peer connections.

However, despite this new tech, nearly 99 percent of crypto trading takes place on centralized exchanges, which seems at odds with the new era of digital money that should be utilizing blockchains trustless capabilities.

Centralized exchanges have a lot of advantages, they're fast, cheap and in some ways quite private. On the other hand, to get those benefits, traders must give their tokens TO the exchange, and trust that they'll not only be honest, but resistant to the sectors notorious if not ubiquitous exchange thefts.

It's easy to see that even without downplaying the advantages, the disadvantages should give any trader pause.

After all, mistrust in middlemen, ie banks, brokers and centralized exchanges, is essentially what led to the success of blockchain tech in the first place.

History has shown us that placing our faith in these middlemen tends to be unwise and one consistently runs the risk of having funds stolen, such as what occurred this year as CoinDesk previously reported, up to 7 different exchange hacks valued at over $157 million US dollars were siphoned off.

Adam: So whats the solution then?

Sebastian: Well, this is where decentralized exchanges come in.

Decentralized exchanges can circumvent the issues of custody by building its infrastructure on the blockchain with the use of smart contracts to coordinate trades from a users own wallet. These smart contracts must be implemented correctly with appropriate withdrawal controls, but ultimately a decentralized exchange should never require a user to give up control of their assets.

Adam: Decentralized exchanges must have a downside?

Sebastian: Of course, decentralized exchanges face their own inherent problems. Blockchains are generally slow by nature, reducing the number of possible trades per second thereby limiting volume and liquidity. Whats more, decentralized exchanges generally result in unfriendly user interfaces that are based around block explorers such as etherscan making it difficult for new users in the space to pick up and understand right away.

Adam: So whats out there and whats worth using?

Sebastian: Well, Binance for example, opened its decentralized exchange to the public back in April this year while OKEx, another major exchange, announced plans way back in March, but still has plans in the works. From my research, most decentralized exchanges lack the liquidity and volume I previously mentioned. More work needs to be done to attract traders away from the centralized model to a decentralized one in order for them to function optimally and as intended.

While the solutions to custody continue to be hashed out (pun intended) there are still a ways to go before users can begin experiencing the same user-friendly interactions, liquidity and volume they get from a centralized exchange. But we need to start looking into blockchain tech as a solution to these issues of centralized custody, otherwise, what are we all doing here?

Adam: And now, for todays spotlight, were giving you the rundown of what has become an annual CoinDesk tradition - the Most Influential people in the crypto industry of 2019

Brad: Thats right, Adam -- were getting closer to the end of the year and that means its time for the Most Influential list, a project thats led by CoinDesk Features Editor Ben Schiller but features some incredible profiles written by CoinDesk staffers

The list highlights people who have had a big year, made significant contributions to the industry in 2019 or simply even been at the center of a big story. I picked a few of the most fascinating.

Brad: First on the list is JACK DORSEY - Twitter's co-founder, who emerged as bitcoin's biggest ally in Silicon Valley. Dorsey invested heavily in the networks' future, and says he hopes one day that the interent will have a native currency, and he hopes that will be bitcoin

Next is Caitlin Long, a former Morgan Stanley banker who has established Wyoming as the most crypto-friendly jurisdiction in the nation. She's helped pass a series of bills designed to attract crypto startups to her home state.

Andrew Yang, the presidential candidate, came from nowhere to be a top-tier presidential candidate, with his brand of sophisticated tech-bro intelligence and ideas like basic universal income. More to the point, Yang is the only Democratic contender with a fleshed-out crypto policy,

David Marcus - the French-born co-founder of Libra, the Facebook stablecoin project, became the face of the effort as he went to Washington to testify in high-profile hearings, where he experienced backlash from lawmakers and U.S. regulators. With big corporate partners like Mastercard peeling away from the effort earlier this year, the big question is whether he can convince Americans to trust Facebook with the future of money

Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, testified in Washington in July that while Facebooks Libra was getting all the attention, it was bitcoin that should be getting the attention, with its track record of more than a decade, saying that the worlds largest and oldest cryptocurrency had already been tested

Ted Livingston - founder of the messaging app Kik Interactive, which was accused by the SEC of running an illegal securities offering when it sold digital tokens in 2017. Hes attracted notoriety and attention, along with some support from the crypto industry, for pushing back against the regulator

Gerald Cotten, former CEO of the now-defunct QuadrigaCX exchange, wasnt even alive during 2019, if you believe his death report out of India from December 2018, but he was at the center of controversy from creditors who say he might not have actually died, and theyre now asking for his body to be exhumed

But wait, theres meow. The last on the list is Hodlonaut, who publicly is a cat in an astronaut costume who emerged on Crypto Twitter as a folk hero representing the freedom to speak the truth and maintain ones own privacy, challenging, among others, Bitcoin SV backer Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin. Hodlonaut became one of the biggest memes of the year in the crypto industry. In reality, CoinDesk reports, hes a mild-mannered, middle-aged man from Norway who loves tattoos, ice cream, and tucking his child into bed.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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MARKETS DAILY: Bullish Bitcoin Dreams and a 2019 to Remember - Coindesk