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I am planning on doing some small-time buying/selling with a friend who is in the States. I am in Argentina and I do not have a way of reimbursing him in Dollars for products that he buys, sends to me, then I sell. Product and Dollar restrictions are very bad here right now, but there has to be a way to bypass these so we can do business together. Any help or advice is appreciated.
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Put up an ad on LocalBitcoins.com. You possibly might find a tourist arriving with bitcoins who is looking for Argentine pesos. Or perhaps you'll find a local Bitcoin miner who is simply looking to cash out some bitcoins for your pesos.
Are there any goods that you could pay for with your pesos and then have the goods shipped to a buyer who pays using bitcoins?
You might laugh, but you might find buyers for Argentine pesos sent via the mail. If there's a market for the Zimbabwe 100 trillion dollar note, there's probably buyers wanting a set of your paper banknotes (for novelty, or maybe even speculation -- who knows.
Again, travelers are a resource for you. For instance, even while visiting a foreign country a traveler might have family or friend back home that would be able to deposit cash for the purpose of buying bitcoins. The typical traveler might not need this, but if for instance, the traveler wants to buy a larger valued item and the seller only accepts cash then the traveler is in a bind. You are simply helping the traveler convert paper money (e.g., USDs) in one country for a different paper money (ARS) in another.
You might also follow the Spanish board on BitcoinTalk forum to find others who might wish to trade by selling bitcoins to you. Or find some Argentine merchants who accept bitcoin (like this, this or this) and see if they have coins and are looking to trade. Or find a merchant that does a lot of export and convince that merchant to begin accepting bitcoins. When they do, you've found your supply of coins.
1David Perry's advice from above, regarding any legal issues applies here as well. – Stephen Gornick – 2012-12-12T06:19:55.957
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Yes, you could reimburse your friend with Bitcoin provided that you can find someone who is willing to sell you bitcoins in exchange for your local currency. However, when the demand for such transactions is strongly one sided in a particular region, the exchange rates may not be particularly favourable.
This question might be of interest for finding someone to trade with: Is there a forum-like exchange for trading Bitcoins person-to-person?
In the USA, your friend should have little trouble converting the bitcoins back to USD.
– Tomas – 2012-12-17T20:09:08.867
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You can easily avoid the BCRA exchange controls legally by purchasing bitcoins in Argentina for pesos and then sending those bitcoins to your friend. Your friend can exchange them for dollars or any other currency for that matter in his country.
As long as you are purchasing bitcoins for Argentine pesos, you are not violating the BCRA's exchange controls. The BCRA has the authority to regulate the transmition of pesos and foreign currency (divisas) in Argentina, but it has no authority (not yet anyway) to regulate the sending of bitcoins.
The biggest group of bitcoiners in Argentina are found on the EUDEMOCRACIA MAILING LIST. You can subscribe to the list, post an offer to buy bitcoins for Argentine pesos, and within minutes you will have plenty of people with offers to sell you the bitcoins you need. There are several hundred members on the list and most will be happy to sell you bitcoins.
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You can use exchanges to do this. This is perfectly legal. Bitcoin is not a legal currency right now as there´s no law for it. Bitcoins are legally speaking, virtual goods, so buying or selling them is totally fine. You can subscribe to CoinMelon Bitcoin Exchange Argentina, it operates in local currency (Pesos Argentinos.).
You seem to be pointing out a viable solution to the asker's question. However, since this is only your second post and both are dealing with CoinMelon, it might make sense to add a statement about your affiliation with CoinMelon, if there is any. It is allowed to suggest your service, if it is a fitting answer, but it would be polite to be upfront about it. – Murch – 2014-03-07T00:56:51.900
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Yes, but it will cut into your profits. You could make use of something like localbitcoins and your partner could do the same. You would be the first in Argentina.
1I strongly doubt he would be the first one, AFAIK Argentina has plenty of people willing to trade in Bitcoins, because of their restrictions. – o0'. – 2012-12-12T11:33:15.777
2To use localbitcoins in Argentina, not just bitcoin. – Kinnard Hockenhull – 2012-12-13T17:15:00.853
He wouldn't be the first. I'm an Argentine and there are a lot of us here trading bitcoins. Read this: https://thebluemarket.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/bitcoin-dollars-and-pot-banging-protests-in-argentina/
On localbitcoins? – Kinnard Hockenhull – 2012-12-17T21:04:53.313
10Please keep in mind that whatever answers this question garners should not be taken as advice on circumventing any laws. If the law explicitly forbids an action please do not take it regardless of advice given here. I do believe, however, that there is nothing illegal about transacting business between countries using Bitcoin as long as it does not violate any kind of trade embargo, tax laws or other restrictions. – David Perry – 2012-12-12T03:13:00.373