finance cryptocurrency
Is it against the law to sell Bitcoin at a flea market?
<p>I think this would be a cool side gig and I have some ideas about how to make Bitcoin more accessible to the general public. But I don't want to break the law either. These would be normal flea markets where vendors pay $20 for a booth and then sell their wares.</p>
<p>Is there an authority I can ask? Do I need a special license?</p>

<p>Since sales are in dollar and the OP does not specify a jurisdiction, I will assume Washington state US. You may need a business license, depending on the municipality. There are various permits required for sale of certain wares, such as food, explosives or poisons, but otherwise no special municipal permits are required. A state money transmitter license is required, and there are a number of bond and auditing requirements that also have to be obeyed. <a href="https://dfi.wa.gov/fintech/industry" rel="noreferrer">The state has a website</a> which implies the pertinent restrictions, but does not actually explain them or how to comply: you would need to hire a lawyer to determine what you have to to to be legal.</p>
<p>Those restrictions are not limited to flea markets, they regulate all bitcoin sales in the state, including internet and yard sale.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/united-states" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" rel="tag">united-states</a></p>
<p>If you exchange bitcoin for currency (rather than accept it for purchases), you may be required to register as a <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/money-services-business-msb-registration" rel="noreferrer">Money Services Business</a> (and follow the corresponding regulations).  I recommend reading FinCEN's <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/FinCEN%20Guidance%20CVC%20FINAL%20508.pdf" rel="noreferrer">2019 guidance document</a> before operating such a business.</p>
<p>I'll note that FinCEN does enforce these laws, though small-scale offline operators aren't necessarily a priority; FinCEN is more apt to go after businesses that facilitate money laundering (e.g., by operating at scale or by running a mixing service).</p>
<p>Per <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/money-services-business-definition" rel="noreferrer">https://www.fincen.gov/money-services-business-definition</a> , these regulations apply if you have:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An activity threshold of greater than $1,000 per person per day in one or more transactions</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, a low volume flea market business may not fall under these regulations.</p>

<p>It is highly dependent on the specifics, but this US Federal case in the state of Michigan may give you some ideas of what exactly not to do:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/Usao-wdmi/pr/2021_1018_Boden" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.justice.gov/Usao-wdmi/pr/2021_1018_Boden</a></p>
<p><strong>TL;DR</strong>: selling Bitcoin to &quot;customers&quot; for cash, &quot;customers&quot; turn out to be drug dealers.</p>
