I bought when btc was around $4k and now it's around $12k I want to convert it back to dollars until the price drops again. Fairly standard. But I have been buying though Coinbase and checking their page they aren't licensed in my state (Massachusetts). I sent my btc from my Electrum to my Coinbase account but it seems to sit there as btc in my btc wallet. It's not a huge amount by their standards, it's my first investment 0.11945068 btc, but I guess I need to find an exchange in a hurry since the price is dropping (I think). I thought I was all set until I went to cash out. I sent my btc to Coinbase 24 hours ago and it just sits there. I have a wire connection to my bank account registered with them. I think the problem is because they aren't licensed in my state so they're not doing anything, but maybe I need to wait longer.
If I understand it clearly then you need to cash out BTC in your local currency. The best option for you is to make an account at localbitcoins, transfer your BTC there, sell your btc to a local buyer and the money will be in your bank account.
I don't see Tether or USDT, only USDC as options on Coinbase. I've never heard of Tether, you picked that just to get it out of Bitcoin before Bitcoin drops? I see BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, ZRX, BAT, ZEC, DAI, BSV, XRP, REP, XLM, EOS. I can use a wallet of one of those currencies or set up a vault. But no vault in US dollars. I think because they aren't licensed in MA.
Localbitcoins I've heard of. Escrow I don't know about but I'm not going to hand it to the first "helpful" person that comes along. I'm really looking for a way to buy and sell bitcoin going forward and I think localbitcoin has some safety user protection measures in place, like eBay or Aliexpress.