<p>First, anyone can use Bitcoin reliably without a bank account. In fact, there is no user registration, no credit check, and certainly no central institution that can reliably exclude users. Completely detaching your life from banking, however, should still be somewhat challenging:</p>

<ol>
<li>To pay for groceries/clothing/gasoline/public transportation and other regular needs with Bitcoin will probably be hard. <a href="http://lifeonbitcoin.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">It can be done</a>, but at this stage will require much more effort.</li>
<li>Emergency situations would really want you to have a fall-back. A broke down car in the middle of nowhere and stuck trying to get the tower to accept Bitcoin would suck, or, well, needing a taxi ride to the ER.</li>
<li>Obtaining bitcoins is harder without a bank account. You'd have to arrange to trade locally, which costs more time, <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/13117/5406">is not without security risks</a>, and a bit more expensive. Or convince your employer/your costumers to pay you in Bitcoin.</li>
<li>And you'd need to find an internet service provider that allows you to pay in another fashion than anything banking related. </li>
</ol>

<p>Bitcoin is private in that nobody can easily see how much money you are holding or spending. It is not anonymous, because whenever you trade Bitcoin for anything else, your identity might be breached to at least your business partner, thus create a connection to your address or even several of your addresses.</p>

<p>With some nations having already declared Bitcoin's legal status (e.g. <a href="http://rt.com/news/bitcoin-germany-recognize-currency-641/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Germany</a>), and some online services introducing Bitcoin as payment option(e.g. <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/shopify-integrates-bitcoin-payments/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Shopify</a>), also judging from news today (e.g. <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/05/i-bought-everything-on-my-christmas-list-with-bitcoin/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Time reporter doing her Christmas shopping exclusively with bitcoins</a>), Bitcoin is spreading quickly. I'd say that with luck and a bit of patience, it might actually be comfortably possible to completely do without a bank account.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-05T23:54:10.607Z
2013-12-05T23:54:10.607Z
2017-04-13T12:47:33.743Z
Murch
<p>If banks are what one wants to escape, as the banking system is corrupt. Therefore seeking an alternative currency, aka Bitcoin. How do you detach your life from the bankers? How is Bitcoin private? Isn't this what Bitcoin was supposed to do is provide an alternative to the money masters that have reigned supreme since 1913?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-04T19:23:49.613Z
Hello jim, welcome to Bitcoin.SE!  Unfortunately, I don't really understand what you're asking.  Are you asking about how to buy and sell bitcoins without a bank account, or about some privacy issue, or what?  Also, as it stands your question is off-putting to those who may not accept your premeses about the banking system, but may still be able to answer your questions.  You can use the "edit" button to make changes if you wish.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-04T20:12:31.283Z
The questions are all followed by question marks. I'm sorry if I was off-putting to you and people who do not understand the banking system as I have done much research into. You can use the edit button if you wish.
jim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-04T20:15:29.430Z
"How do you detach your life from bankers" is not a question about Bitcoin.  "How is Bitcoin private" is, but it's apparently unrelated to the previous one, and it's [previously been answered](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/52/how-anonymous-are-bitcoin-transactions?rq=1).  "Isn't this what Bitcoin was supposed to do": What does "this" refer to?
Nate Eldredge
<banks>
How can someone participate in Bitcoin reliably without a bank account?
jim
# How can someone participate in Bitcoin reliably without a bank account?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-04)

If banks are what one wants to escape, as the banking system is corrupt. Therefore seeking an alternative currency, aka Bitcoin. How do you detach your life from the bankers? How is Bitcoin private? Isn't this what Bitcoin was supposed to do is provide an alternative to the money masters that have reigned supreme since 1913?

**Tags:** banks

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hello jim, welcome to Bitcoin.SE!  Unfortunately, I don't really understand what you're asking.  Are you asking about how to buy and sell bitcoins without a bank account, or about some privacy issue, or what?  Also, as it stands your question is off-putting to those who may not accept your premeses about the banking system, but may still be able to answer your questions.  You can use the "edit" button to make changes if you wish.  
> **username_0**: The questions are all followed by question marks. I'm sorry if I was off-putting to you and people who do not understand the banking system as I have done much research into. You can use the edit button if you wish.  
> **username_1**: "How do you detach your life from bankers" is not a question about Bitcoin.  "How is Bitcoin private" is, but it's apparently unrelated to the previous one, and it's [previously been answered](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/52/how-anonymous-are-bitcoin-transactions?rq=1).  "Isn't this what Bitcoin was supposed to do": What does "this" refer to?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-12-05. Score: 0

First, anyone can use Bitcoin reliably without a bank account. In fact, there is no user registration, no credit check, and certainly no central institution that can reliably exclude users. Completely detaching your life from banking, however, should still be somewhat challenging:

1. To pay for groceries/clothing/gasoline/public transportation and other regular needs with Bitcoin will probably be hard. [It can be done](http://lifeonbitcoin.com/), but at this stage will require much more effort.
2. Emergency situations would really want you to have a fall-back. A broke down car in the middle of nowhere and stuck trying to get the tower to accept Bitcoin would suck, or, well, needing a taxi ride to the ER.
3. Obtaining bitcoins is harder without a bank account. You'd have to arrange to trade locally, which costs more time, [is not without security risks](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/13117/5406), and a bit more expensive. Or convince your employer/your costumers to pay you in Bitcoin.
4. And you'd need to find an internet service provider that allows you to pay in another fashion than anything banking related.

Bitcoin is private in that nobody can easily see how much money you are holding or spending. It is not anonymous, because whenever you trade Bitcoin for anything else, your identity might be breached to at least your business partner, thus create a connection to your address or even several of your addresses.

With some nations having already declared Bitcoin's legal status (e.g. [Germany](http://rt.com/news/bitcoin-germany-recognize-currency-641/)), and some online services introducing Bitcoin as payment option(e.g. [Shopify](http://www.coindesk.com/shopify-integrates-bitcoin-payments/)), also judging from news today (e.g. [Time reporter doing her Christmas shopping exclusively with bitcoins](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/05/i-bought-everything-on-my-christmas-list-with-bitcoin/)), Bitcoin is spreading quickly. I'd say that with luck and a bit of patience, it might actually be comfortably possible to completely do without a bank account.


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