How To Turn Your STEEM Dollars Into Cold, Hard Cash

When one of your posts takes off, and the STEEM Dollars start rolling in, maybe you want to treat yourself to a cold beer or a tropical holiday. Good for you; but before you can spend your profits you have to turn them into your local fiat currency.

The super-easy beginner's guide to turning STEEM Dollars into cold, hard cash

1. Head over to your Steemit wallet.
   
2. Click on the little arrow next to your Steem Dollars balance and choose Convert to Steem. This action will take place one week from now and can not be canceled. These Steem Dollars will immediately become unavailable. Alternatively, if you are in a hurry it is also possible to withdraw your Steem Dollars directly.
   
3. Create an account at Poloniex. It is a well-respected cryptocurrency exchange where you can turn Steem into Bitcoin.
   
4. Got to Balances --> Deposits & Withdrawals and type steem in the search box.
   
5. Click Deposit and follow the instructions.
   
6. In your Steemit wallet, you can send your funds to Poloniex by clicking transfer next to either your Steem or Steem Dollars balance. Make sure you copy/paste the account name and memo from the Poloniex deposit page before starting the transfer.
7. Once your funds have arrived at Poloniex, click on Exchange and type steem in the search box. Select the market for either Steem or Steem Dollars.
   
8. Enter the amount of Steem/Steem Dollars you wish to exchange in the Sell Steem box and hit Sell
   
9. Congratulations! Now you own Bitcoin.
10. Withdrawing your bitcoin is very similar to depositing steem: click Balances --> Deposits & Withdrawals, type bitcoin in the search box and click withdrawal
11. From here on there are plenty of ways to turn Bitcoin into cash: You can go through any of the major exchanges like Bitstamp or OKCoin, or you can even use your bitcoin to load a MasterCard. However, all these options require you to provide ID information and proof of address. This requires finding the right documents, uploading them and waiting to be verified. However, we want cold, hard cash today, right? Luckily, there's a solution at LocalBitcoins.com. This is a global peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange where you can exchange your bitcoins for cash with local traders. LocalBitcoins provides a solid user-rating system and an escrow service to ensure safe and smooth transactions. So sign up for a LocalBitcoins account by providing a valid email address and choosing a password.
    
12. Go to your LocalBitcoins wallet and copy/paste the bitcoin address under Receive Bitcoins to the Poloniex bitcoin withdrawal page.
13. Once your funds arrive at LocalBitcoins, you can search for a buyer in your area or explore online options to exchange the bitcoin amount in your local currency.

That is it! Any questions? Simply post a reply below and I'll be happy to help.