Which Bitcoin exchanges may I access if I live in Zimbabwe?

BY  :Ellery Davies

Zimbabwe is the only country with a 100 trillion dollar note. It’s a sign of rampant inflation. If you live in Zimbabwe, it makes sense that you seek to own Bitcoin. Your economy would become more stable, if only the government would switch to Bitcoin. — [continue below image]

I suggest that you find a friend with an address in one of these 34 countries. It is not necessary that you trust the friend with the keys to your wealth, because only you and family members that you designate will have the account passwords.

Choose someone with citizenship and a physical mailing address in a country that does not have a tax treaty with Zimbabwe. Your friend won’t tell Coinbase that the account is for a citizen of Zimbabwe, but if he is audited by his own tax authority (or if Coinbase is compelled to match and report the earnings of a buy/sell transaction), he may need to demonstrate to his own tax authority that the account is custodial.

Your friend can open an account at Coinbase in America or Bitstamp in the United Kingdom with his/her own name and address (the only cryptocurrency exchanges currently endorsed by CRYPSA).*

Alternatively, keep your funds in your own device wallet, paper wallet or in a fully encrypted, online cloud-account. But, be sure to follow careful security measures. Maintaining a private key backup is non-trivial. If you follow safe & robust storage practices, you needn’t worry about government seizure. No one can seize your assets without your cooperation.

Incidentally, with a proxy account in the name of a foreigner, your friend must trust you even more than you trust him! That’s because a legitimate exchange (like Coinbase or Bitstamp) will demand multiple forms of ID, authority to withdraw funds from both a bank account and a credit card, and even temporary access to the online password for the linked bank account! They require this information to ensure that transactions are collateralized in real time. To maintain an account at a trustworthy exchange, there is no way of getting around this. You can lie about the identity of the user, but ultimately, someone will face scrutiny. Both exchanges comply with laws in their own country and the jurisdiction of the individual in whose name assets are held.

Link: https://www.quora.com/Which-Bitcoin-exchanges-may-I-access-if-I-live-in-Zimbabwe