StealthEx as on-ramp?

[Not_Your_Dad]

Greetings all!

I can see that crypto is definitely the way to go, and I have some general questions that I think I've reasoned my way through on my own, but would like opinions from those better informed then me.

I've been poking around and I'm not certain that I especially like Coinbase, CashApp, PayPal, etc. for purchasing crypto. As part of my poking around, I've found StealthEx, which lets me buy, e.g., USDCSOL with Visa/MC and no KYC. I don't know if the rate is good/bad/indifferent -- I just set up a purchase (which I haven't completed) and $500 USD will net me 472.220646 USDC on Solana.

I know many of the vendors accept USDC-Sol which is why I selected that just to see. I could use BTC as well. As I understand, it really doesn't matter as long as the vendor accepts the chosen crypto, fully understanding that USDC-Sol is NOT USDC-Eth or USDC-Tron and sending Sol to Eth or whatever else is just losing the coins forever.

So as I see it, if I make a wallet on Exodus, I can convert my fiat USD into coins of my choice on StealthEx, send it to my wallet, and then carry on with transactions as I see fit.

Is my general understanding correct here?

I'd appreciate any tips, suggestions, telling me I'm an idiot (that's fine - please just explain why), or anything else.

Thank you!

 

[Calm Logic]

Why not just buy the USDC from within Exodus? To save money buying USDC-Sol, I buy PYUSD-Sol from within Exodus (using PayPal as the payment method) then swap to USDC-Sol.

A recommendation I just found, so I haven't tried it yet:

To make it truly "pro-level," I'd suggest buying the PYUSD via PayPal, then instead of swapping inside Exodus, use the Exodus browser or a connected dApp to swap on Jupiter. You’ll likely see a few extra dollars stay in your pocket.

Jupiter:

Jupiter | The Home of Onchain Finance

Swap, Borrow, Lend, Perps, Wallet, and more. For everything DeFi, just use Jupiter.

jup.ag

More info on dApps:

https://www.exodus.com/support/en/articles/8598851-how-do-i-connect-to-dapps-and-web3-apps-with-exodus-web3-wallet

 

[Camlbacker]

I'm just going to do the math here:
500-472.22 = 27.78/500 = .05556 ~5.6% cost just to buy it before any cost to move it to another wallet or any other incidentals/accidentals that might come up in your own process to ensure financial privacy and purchase from the vendor of your choice.

One of the biggest problems I have with crypto is that transactions that banks do quickly and seamlessly for free for me every day, crypto has these endless asshole grifters with their tollbooths set up on the blockchain superhighway making the whole process of doing business much more expensive, not to mention the time consuming and aggravating roadblocks. I'm very new to this whole crypto thing: I had been messing around with it for a couple of weeks just to get my feet wet and try to understand the process, and finally made my first actual purchase over the weekend. Now that I have what I need on order and have some time through the Spring Festival to figure this whole thing out, I'm going to find some cheaper ways to do this, because, quite frankly I don't like feeding these asshole grifters 5-8% for, as I said, the kind of transactions my bank does for free.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Why not just buy the USDC from within Exodus? To save money buying USDC-Sol, I buy PYUSD-Sol from within Exodus (using PayPal as the payment method) then swap to USDC-Sol.

A recommendation I just found, so I haven't tried it yet:



Jupiter:

Jupiter | The Home of Onchain Finance

Swap, Borrow, Lend, Perps, Wallet, and more. For everything DeFi, just use Jupiter.

jup.ag

More info on dApps:

https://www.exodus.com/support/en/articles/8598851-how-do-i-connect-to-dapps-and-web3-apps-with-exodus-web3-wallet

That's reasonable. But looking at Exodus right now, PYUSD is not available to buy on Exodus, although it is swappable on ETH and SOL.

Also currently, NO USDC is available to buy or sell on Exodus, and swap is only available on 5 of the 15 networks, SOL and ETH not being among them.

Plus, I really don't want to fuck with PayPal. It's always been a huge pain in the ass for me and I'd rather pay 5% to not have to deal with them, quite frankly. Just being able to buy this shit with no KYC instead of giving PayPal any idea about what I'm doing and why is extra appealing to me. Same with Coinbase, CashApp, and the rest of the assholes who harvest and commoditize data.

 

[Calm Logic]

For those who don't mind the PYUSD from PayPal to avoid some fees:

PayPal / USDT / Solana Crypto Guide 10.21.25

Back in the day (a little over a year ago), people were spending $10-$30+ to buy crypto to pay for their peptides. In my infinite cheapness, I sought a different, i.e. cheaper way to do it. That's when I discovered that you can use PayPal to buy crypto, specifically USDT/USDC on Solana, for no...

glp1forum.com

 

[yrrdead]

That's reasonable. But looking at Exodus right now, PYUSD is not available to buy on Exodus, although it is swappable on ETH and SOL.

Also currently, NO USDC is available to buy or sell on Exodus, and swap is only available on 5 of the 15 networks, SOL and ETH not being among them.

Plus, I really don't want to fuck with PayPal. It's always been a huge pain in the ass for me and I'd rather pay 5% to not have to deal with them, quite frankly. Just being able to buy this shit with no KYC instead of giving PayPal any idea about what I'm doing and why is extra appealing to me. Same with Coinbase, CashApp, and the rest of the assholes who harvest and commoditize data.

Looking at the StealthEx interface I believe that you can skip a step.

Open Exodus wallet
Go to BTC(Using btc as example can be anything)
Click Receive
Copy Wallet Address
Go to StealthEx
Click Buy
Paste Exodus Wallet Address into field
Complete Transaction (<$700)
....
Profit

I'll be trying this next time to see how much their fees are for this. No KYC bullshit is a feature worth paying for but the $700 limit I can't tell if thats a one time thing or yearly or what.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Looking at the StealthEx interface I believe that you can skip a step.

Open Exodus wallet
Go to BTC(Using btc as example can be anything)
Click Receive
Copy Wallet Address
Go to StealthEx
Click Buy
Paste Exodus Wallet Address into field
Complete Transaction (<$700)
....
Profit

I'll be trying this next time to see how much their fees are for this. No KYC bullshit is a feature worth paying for but the $700 limit I can't tell if thats a one time thing or yearly or what.

It looks like the payment processor -might- have a little verification to go through. I'm not entirely certain if it's more than an email verification.

I decided to go with Edge for my wallet. Right up my alley because they asked for fuck-all as far as personal info goes, not even an email address. Just had to come up with a user name and password. I can see, maybe, some issues with Edge if you're actively investing or trying to make money with crypto, but as of now it's only to fund my pep purchases and I was super happy with the interface.

You have the ability to buy within Edge which is something I'll explore a bit as well.

 

[Cdub100]

Never heard of it and it sounds shady AF.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Looking at the StealthEx interface I believe that you can skip a step.

Open Exodus wallet
Go to BTC(Using btc as example can be anything)
Click Receive
Copy Wallet Address
Go to StealthEx
Click Buy
Paste Exodus Wallet Address into field
Complete Transaction (<$700)
....
Profit

I'll be trying this next time to see how much their fees are for this. No KYC bullshit is a feature worth paying for but the $700 limit I can't tell if thats a one time thing or yearly or what.

The no-KYC is complete bullshit. StealthEx doesn't want any, but their payment processor wants full name, address, social security number just to use a fucking debit card.

 

[yrrdead]

The no-KYC is complete bullshit. StealthEx doesn't want any, but their payment processor wants full name, address, social security number just to use a fucking debit card.

I wonder if there are workarounds using prepaid cards?

Side note you should see Venmo, not sure if its just a bug but even after doing the stupid ID verification , I had to enter my SSN every single transaction. That's why I mentioned in one of my other posts how I'm just using Coinbase > Exodus in the future.

 

[Calm Logic]

Probably don't take prepaid cards.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

I wonder if there are workarounds using prepaid cards?

Side note you should see Venmo, not sure if its just a bug but even after doing the stupid ID verification , I had to enter my SSN every single transaction. That's why I mentioned in one of my other posts how I'm just using Coinbase > Exodus in the future.

They claim that using a credit card requires a more ID verification.

I tried purchasing with the processors in Edge; MoonPay just flat out didn't work. It asked for less information but just told me my card was declined. I called my bank and they told me that no transaction was even attempted. Possible workaround with MoonPay is using ApplePay with Cash, which I can add-to with a gift card. Apple already has all my goddamn info and I'm at peace with that.

They also process with Paybis, who despite claiming that you can transact $1k without any enhanced verification, immediately required a SSN and photo ID. I mean it really shouldn't be this difficult.

I'm mulling using CoinEx on a VPN from outside the US.

I know I can just use Venmo or PayPal but I'm just so goddamn sick of Google getting their fingers in literally every single aspect of everyone's life.

 

[yrrdead]

Hmm i like the VPN idea. It shouldn't be this hard, what are the criminals doing darn it. Where are all our ex silk road friends.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

For anyone following along, Edge gave me a payment processor option of Simplex today, who processed my Solana purchase with just my name and email address! Fuck though it shouldn't be this hard.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

I was thwarted with the Apple gift card; I now have $50 on my Apple account that I apparently can't move to the Cash portion of my wallet 😝

Simplex doesn't have great rates, definitely a higher than some of the other processors but for just wanting an email address and card info, I think it's worth it. They also don't process everything, I've found. I can't buy USDC-Sol with Simplex, but I can buy ETH or BTC. I bought $50 worth of ETH this morning, and I'm going to swap it to USDC-Sol in Edge and see what I'm left with.

Next up, I'm off to buy a prepaid Visa card and see if I can use that with Simplex. I'll keep you all posted in case anyone cares 🙃

 

[Chopper]

I was thwarted with the Apple gift card; I now have $50 on my Apple account that I apparently can't move to the Cash portion of my wallet 😝

Simplex doesn't have great rates, definitely a higher than some of the other processors but for just wanting an email address and card info, I think it's worth it. They also don't process everything, I've found. I can't buy USDC-Sol with Simplex, but I can buy ETH or BTC. I bought $50 worth of ETH this morning, and I'm going to swap it to USDC-Sol in Edge and see what I'm left with.

Next up, I'm off to buy a prepaid Visa card and see if I can use that with Simplex. I'll keep you all posted in case anyone cares 🙃

Yes I for one am very curious how this plays out!

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Haven't gone out to get a prepaid card yet (it's cold AF out there today and I really don't want to), but here's how this played out:

I bought $50 of ETH this morning, which was 0.0222571 ETH worth $43.17; that was a pretty hefty 13.66% fee to buy it without ANY KYC beyond an email address and card details. May need to reconsider my excessive need for privacy 🙃

Anyway, I then initiated a swap, right within Edge:

0.0198106 ETH worth $40.29 for 39.53001 USDC-Sol worth $39.52. I don't remember which exchange I used, but it was one of the more expensive ones, but again literally zero KYC.

Now I have 0.0024464 ETH left that's worth $5.01, and the USDC-Sol worth $39.52, thus my net cost for this was $5.47. I understand that some of that was gain on ETH which is up 4.57% since this morning.

Overall, I appreciate this. It's some extra work, and I will probably investigate StealthEx to facilitate the exchange in the future, or (I hope) I'll be able to buy USDC-Sol right from Simplex. I may also need to consider a different crypto. I found USDC appealing since there really isn't any swing in value. And I don't want to keep $500 in BTC or ETH knocking around to buy peptides, especially with how unstable the values have been recently.

If you have any questions about what I specifically did, please feel free to ask. Please do remember that this is the first time I've ever touched crypto, and I just stumbled my way through it. I don't think this was the cheapest way to do this, and I don't know if this level of privacy is reasonable (I kind of think it's probably excessive, but I like it anyway). So there are probably many folks here better suited to answer your general crypto questions then me!

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Unfortunate update now -- Simplex is requiring KYC for me to buy any more crypto. And that really sucks.

 

[yrrdead]

Unfortunate update now -- Simplex is requiring KYC for me to buy any more crypto. And that really sucks.

We appreciate your service to the cause. Now I'm waiting for the gift card/vpn approach with bated breath.

 

[HereKittyKitty]

Y'all might as well be speaking Venutian for all really understand. The only bits that spark my synapses are the percentages. 🤣

Crypto intimidates the crap outta me. I use it in the simplest way possible. I'm afraid I'll phuck it all up and kiss my shekels goodbye.

Interesting read though. I'll follow along and hope something clicks for me.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

We appreciate your service to the cause. Now I'm waiting for the gift card/vpn approach with bated breath.

I have a feeling what's going to happen is the processor is either going to:

1. Reject the transaction using a prepaid Visa or MC; or

2. Reject the transaction because I'm alleging to be outside of the United States whilst using a card clearly bought in the US and funded with US dollars.

I have other options to play with too - I can make many, many, MANY aliases in Proton Mail and use those with Simplex. Perhaps if (and this is a big IF) they'll process the prepaid card, I can just continually tell them I'm someone else. Realistically I'm looking at buying crypto maybe 4-6 times a year, so it could potentially be doable.

Also, and this hit me last night, why exactly do I care if some exchange in Lithuania has some of my info? Like, really, Really really, what difference does it make? They're not Google. I'm sure they don't share info with anyone else, so wherein lies the harm in taking a picture of my passport and a selfie?

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Y'all might as well be speaking Venutian for all really understand. The only bits that spark my synapses are the percentages. 🤣

Crypto intimidates the crap outta me. I use it in the simplest way possible. I'm afraid I'll phuck it all up and kiss my shekels goodbye.

Interesting read though. I'll follow along and hope something clicks for me.

So, let me just say this outright:

I am doing this in probably the most difficult and expensive way possible. To me, the promise of crypto partially lay in the privacy, and my saga here is my attempt to obtain crypto in a way that does NOT involve disclosing my SSN or allowing Google into the picture. I fully realize I am approaching tinfoil hat levels of crazy with this.

There is an excellent guide pinned here for how to purchase crypto, and honestly if I figured out the basics, ANYONE can!

 

[Chopper]

So, let me just say this outright:

I am doing this in probably the most difficult and expensive way possible. To me, the promise of crypto partially lay in the privacy, and my saga here is my attempt to obtain crypto in a way that does NOT involve disclosing my SSN or allowing Google into the picture. I fully realize I am approaching tinfoil hat levels of crazy with this.

There is an excellent guide pinned here for how to purchase crypto, and honestly if I figured out the basics, ANYONE can!

Yes,
I really would love to make a way of having crypto that was cash like in the sense that the currency could in no way be traced back to you once it leaves your wallet, even if the cost was extra time/money to do so. im not sure thats possible at this point though without doing shady shit that I also dont want to do either lol. I know I seem to want my cake and eat it lol.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

We appreciate your service to the cause. Now I'm waiting for the gift card/vpn approach with bated breath.

Thus far, the VPN has been disappointing. Even operating in a super crypto-friendly country (Georgia), their local exchange (Cryptal) still has some KYC. And I can for sure arrange an address in Tbilisi and get a Georgian bank account, but unless I go full off the deep end and obtain fraudulent identity docs, it's all gonna end back up in the hands of the US anyway.

Note to anyone reading: I'm NOT obtaining falsified ID documents. I haven't. I never will. You absolutely should not either. It is 100% not a risk worth taking.

I have a few more things I'll try before I admit defeat on the matter, and shall update accordingly.