Extracting your Steem

I just posted about how I used my Steemit earnings to buy a guitar and I also paid for my Steemfest trip with what I made here. I just wanted to clarify how you can do this sort of thing. In order to spend cryptocurrency in regular shops you need a debit card that uses some form of crypto. There are several that use Bitcoin, including Bitwala and Xapo and others. Some of these have restrictions on what countries cardholders can be in. I don't think Bitwala can be issued to the USA, but there are others that can. Some US states are putting restrictions on companies that use cryptocurrency, so check to ensure you can actually get one with each company.

These companies will also have a set of fees for various actions such as adding funds to the card and ATM withdrawals. I'm prepared to pay something for the convenience I get.

If you have a Bitcoin wallet then you can use that to transfer funds. You could use one of the various exchanges to sell your Steem. A few sites off a direct transfer from one currency to another. The ones I've used are:

Changelly, @changelly on Steemit. They don't seem to offer Steem Dollars at the moment. They do have an affiliate scheme, so you can earn something if you recruit people. I'm using my link here.

Blocktrades, @blocktrades on Steemit. They have Steem and SBD right now.

You will notice they offer slightly different exchange rates. I tend to check both and use whichever is best at the time. They each charge a fee and so larger transactions tend to get a better rate. Each will ask you for a destination wallet address and will then give you a memo code. You then have to make a transfer to the appropriate Steemit account with that memo. Bitcoin transactions seem to come through in a few minutes, but it can vary depending on what is going on generally.

I've used both of these to transfer hundreds of Steem and had no problems. You just need to triple check you have the correct addresses and code. I've heard of malware that changes Bitcoin addresses you copy and paste. I hope I don't have that, but I still check it pasted correctly.

Maybe someday someone will offer a direct Steem to cash solution, but this is the best alternative I've found so far.

Steem on!

I'll buy guitar picks for Steem Dollars

Convert Steem to Bitcoin (and others coins) using Changelly.

If this post is over seven days old you can vote up one of my newer posts to reward me.

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