Seaside Resort in Slovenia Promotes Itself With NFTs

May 15, 2022 Bitcoin.com

From beer to Bitcoin as legal tender: A BTC education in Roatán

April 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

caribbean

How a small-scale Bitcoin education project involving a former brewery collided with plans for Bitcoin as de facto legal tender.

Few crypto enthusiasts around the world could point to the remote island of Roatán prior to the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.

Dušan Matuska was one of them, a Bitcoin (BTC) educator whose plans to open a Bitcoin education center in a former brewery entangled with the Satoshi Nakamoto-inspired vision of a special economic zone in Honduras called Próspera. Located on Roatán, Próspera accepts Bitcoin as a de facto legal tender as of April 2022.

But how did a Slovakian Bitcoin miner stumble across one of the few locations worldwide to accept Bitcoin as de facto legal tender? And, what does a brewery have to do with it?

In late 2021, Matuska’s Bitcoin mining friends mentioned the Honduran isle of Roatan, explaining their intention to buy a few plots of land on the picture-perfect island. Given the success of neighboring country El Salvador and the Bitcoin Beach Bitcoin adoption story, as well as his personal mission to teach 100 million people about Bitcoin by 2030, Matuska’s curiosity was piqued.

Matuska flew over from Paraguay, where he was investigating renewable Bitcoin mining operations, and quickly learned Roatán is a “nice small island in Honduras” that has “beautiful views.” It’s like a “hidden pearl of the Caribbean.”

However, it’s small, so “after two weeks having a holiday there, you start to get bored.”

“Since our mission is always to educate people about Bitcoin, we began cooking up ideas about a Bitcoin education center in Honduras.”

In line with other Bitcoin grassroots projects around the world such as El Salvador and Portland, Oregon, while drawing from his own experience educating people about Bitcoin at crypto cafés in Eastern Europe, Matuska began scoping out centers for Bitcoin education.

*The Paralení Polis alternative education café in Prague, Czechia. The space became a Bitcoin education center. Source: Google*

A curious coincidence, Matuska is Slovakian — Czechs and Slovakians are close and share similar culture and histories — and Czech is the second-largest expat population on the island after the Americans. What’s more, an old Czech brewery had fallen into disarray.

The former Czech brewery appeared to be the ideal opportunity to rejuvenate a tired space and convert it into a place where visitors could learn about the world’s largest cryptocurrency. “It looked like a Bitcoin Citadel,” Matuska told Cointelegraph.

The beers to Bitcoin story had begun.

However, the size and scale of restoring a large and derelict brewery into an education center were daunting. When Matuska and the team “checked it out, the building was rotten and damaged.” Restoring the relic would cost “maybe hundreds of thousands of euros to put back to a normal state.”

In another happy accident, the Próspera business event was taking place on the island, just around the corner. Próspera is a special economic zone in the center of Roátan that hosts its own civil law and regulatory structure. Próspera’s laws take inspiration from the hugely successful Shenzen economic zone in China, as well as Dubai.

*The Próspera special economic zone. Source: Prospera.hn*

Matuska left the brewery to take part in the conference buoyed by conversations he had about Honduras potentially adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. He explained that in Roatán in early 2022:

“You could pay some taxes in Bitcoin; businesses were super open to accepting Bitcoin, or any other currency, because there is a huge amount of freedom in the whole area.”

During the conference, a golden opportunity presented itself: Matuska was asked to discuss his work with Bitcoin and education.

“I was thinking, okay, should I present the potential Honduras Bitcoin Education Center? Like, Is it okay or not? In the end, I decided I should.”

Shortly after the presentation about the brewery to Bitcoin project, Erick Brimen, founder and CEO of the Próspera special economic zone, turned to Matuska. “Come with me,” he said.

“Erick Brimen took me to a building at the highest viewpoint on Roatán in Pristine Bay. It’s an amazing building. Right now, there’s a school but it’s outgrown the building. In June, it’s going to be free. And. it’s going to be where we start building the center.”

Forget the derelict brewery, an even better Bitcoin education center had fallen into Matuska’s lap. Moreover, Matuska got the nod from the CEO of the organization that was the driving force for Bitcoin as legal tender in Próspera.

Visited Roatan island in Honduras last week to find a place for our future Bitcoin Education Center. We were offered this wonderful building in @Prosperahn to start in one of the most #Bitcoin friendly jurisdictions pic.twitter.com/6zrWpXAzJf
— Dusan Matuska (@dusan_matuska) April 11, 2022

Brimen explained to Cointelegraph that the Bitcoin education center in Próspera aligns with their key strategic objectives of identifying “100 cocreators that will be ‘hands on’ in activating a string of strategic projects.”

“Dusan’s project is one of them, he’s co-creating something important to the jurisdiction by installing a Bitcoin education center. Decentralized finance is key and Bitcoin is a much better form of currency than traditional fiat. We want to enable that.”

Upon seeing the new building and the scale of the project, Matuska’s brain went into overdrive. He needed to talk to his girlfriend, his colleagues, immigration authorities and airlines as they had just “a couple of weeks or months just to set it up and start to put everything together.”

Matuska told Cointelegraph that the Próspera project was keen to do “everything on Bitcoin.” A deal was struck just weeks before Bitcoin 2022.

During Samson Mow’s keynote speech at Bitcoin 2022, Bitcoin as a de facto legal tender was announced in Próspera, Honduras and Madeira, Portugal, while a Mexican senator shared ambitious Bitcoin plans for her country.

*The announcement made during Bitcoin 2022 in Miami. Source: YouTube*

Matuska jokes that Bremen almost mentioned the Bitcoin education center during the keynote speech, but the time constraints of just “90 seconds on stage” didn’t quite allow for it.

Back in Honduras, the Bitcoin education center is growing in importance as part of Próspera’s and Brimen’s vision for Bitcoin. Ultimately, Bitcoin should be understood and used correctly.

*The view from the top of the Bitcoin education center in Próspera. Source: Matuska*

Brimen told Cointelegraph that “it is not enough to simply make it legal,” as people should “have the tools available to them as well as the knowledge to use it optimally.” He continued:

“Since it is considered legal tender, we want to enable people to not just have the right to use it but to use it responsibly.”

As a result, Matuska is keen for Bitcoiners around the world to visit, reach out and be part of the change occurring in Honduras.

“Próspera actually asked us to be the leaders in terms of onboarding businesses in Honduras, helping them out and setting everything up. For us, it’s a huge leap toward our vision of accelerating Bitcoinization. And, that’s why I just couldn’t say no.”

“Lecturers from Czechia and Slovakia are flying out to teach,” but the team is still thin on the ground. As Brimen concludes, “to use Bitcoin to the maximum benefit possible,” they are going to need all the help they can get.

*The Próspera Bitcoin education center. Source: Matuska*

As for the former brewery that's fallen into disrepair, Matuska told Cointelegraph that "maybe" in the future, there will be a Bitcoin-related project taking place there. It'd be a shame to let such a beautiful building go to waste.

Building businesses in the ‘spirit of Bitcoin’: The Bitcoin Hostel

April 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Community

A Bitcoin hostel under construction in Portugal reflects a growing trend of business built with more than just a digital currency in mind.

A Bitcoin (BTC) hostel is coming to Portugal’s shores. As it’s Europe’s first Bitcoin-only hostel, Cointelegraph spoke with the founders to find out how Bitcoin shapes the business model, from planning to architecture to the community.

The Bitcoin Hostel is a homestay and hangout where Bitcoin (Lighting or on-chain) is the only acceptable payment method — a space where “the spirit of Bitcoin” shapes the decision-making process.

The hostel was founded by Berliners Albert Wolframm and his girlfriend, Valeria Pandimiglio. “She’s the business part, and I’m the architecture part, but I’m also more into Bitcoin,” he jokes. The Bitcoin Hostel combines Wolframm’s skills and hobbies: “traveling, Bitcoin and architecture.”

The Bitcoin Hostel shares developments with the Bitcoin community at every stage, taking into account Bitcoiners’ requests and advice in an “open-source style” of governance.

For example, when it comes to raising money, the hostel followed Tiago Vasconcelos’ advice to use Tallycoin. Vasconcelos is the Portuguese Bitcoiner behind the artificial intelligence trading bot that told readers to hodl, and a co-founder of Portugal’s A Seita Bitcoin, which is a Portuguese pun translating to “the Bitcoin Cult,” accepted.

What is the best way to accept #Bitcoin donations?
— Bitcoin Hostel⚡️ (@bitcoin_hostel) April 4, 2022

Vasconcelos told Cointelegraph that running a business through Bitcoin principles is “really disruptive.” He explained that businesses such as Bitcoin Hostel show:

“The true Bitcoin spirit, decentralized, community-driven, open-source! I think it’s the start of a new way of doing business that will start to catch on in the future!”

Indeed, the Bitcoin approach to building a business is gaining traction, from Jack Dorsey’s ₿Trust, which takes zero direction from its overseers to Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack’s football club, which he intends to run on a Bitcoin standard.

For examples of the Bitcoin spirit guiding entrepreneurial but grassroots endeavors, Paco De La India is traveling the globe with only a Bitcoin seed phrase in his pocket, while “Nourou” in West Africa strives to put Bitcoin-based decisions at the heart of the Senegalese restoration community.

*The Bitcoin Hostel Portugal. Source: Bitcoin Hostel*

The hostel is hosting a competition to choose the design of the hostel while participating in Twitter Spaces and updating Bitcoiners and interested parties in real time. Regarding the design competition, although Wolframm’s professional architecture skills will come in handy, the website jokes that the design “with the most Hash... eh sorry, Design-Power will win!”

In line with Bitcoin philosophy, Wolframm champions autonomy and “giving power back to the people.” Taking inspiration from his master’s degree, in which he learned that people are happier and more prosperous when equipped with greater autonomy and a vision for the future, he muses that Bitcoin is the tool to allow greater freedoms.

To date, the Bitcoin Hostel has received an “amazing response from the Bitcoin community,” as Bitcoiners around the world are keen to lend a hand.

“We got more than 1,000 followers and, like, so many private messages also from people asking if where we are at, what status we have, and if they can support us in any way.”

The Bitcoin Hostel couple has secured a fiat loan — “we don’t want to sell any Bitcoin” — and have begun scouting locations in Portugal to construct the building. Wolframm shared that he has received a tremendous amount of value from Bitcoiners in the space, and the encouragement spurs him on to continue building out the business in a Bitcoin-centric way.

“MTC,” the founder of Sats Ledger — a Bitcoin savings book for kids — told Cointelegraph that he was similarly overwhelmed by the spirited response from the Bitcoin community when he began his Bitcoin side hustle. MTC also told Cointelegraph that the Bitcoin community reaction was “phenomenal,” sharing this advice:

“If people have an itch to contribute something or to do a side project in this space, I would say ‘Throw your heart into it’ because you’re going to get feedback and connections and insights and experiences from it that you just wouldn’t have dreamt of.”

*The Bitcoin Hostel camper complete with laser eyes. Source: Twitter*

For the Bitcoin Hostel, the architecture competition is en route, the campervan is secured, and construction should begin in early 2023.

Unhosted is unwelcome: EU’s attack on noncustodial wallets is part of a larger trend

April 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

AML

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic seem to be nervous about people transacting with their wallets.

Last week, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted in favor of a regulatory update that could compromise the exchange platforms’ ability to deal with noncustodial crypto wallets. Should the regulatory project make it to the legislation phase in the upcoming months, it would place severe disclosure requirements on transactions between noncustodial wallets and crypto exchanges in the European Union — a process whose signs are visible in other parts of the globe as well.

What happened

On Thursday, March 31, ECON and LIBE members voted on the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulatory package, which seeks to revise the current Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR).

The revised version of the TFR brings several legal threats to “unhosted,” or self-custodied, wallets. It would require crypto service providers to “verify the accuracy of [the] information concerning the originator or beneficiary behind the unhosted wallet” for every transaction made between a service provider (typically, a crypto exchange) and an unhosted wallet.

It can be difficult, if not impossible, for crypto service providers to verify each “unhosted” counterpart. Hence, as crypto advocate Patrick Hansen from blockchain firm Unstoppable DeFi warned, to stay compliant and not compromise their legal position in the European market, some companies might want to block transactions with self-custodied wallets altogether if they face such surveillance and disclosure requirements. Smaller companies might find the potential costs of compliance too high and leave the market to established players, which would lead to further market centralization.

The legislation would also oblige crypto companies to inform “competent AML authorities” ‘of any transfer worth 1,000 euros (about $1,010) or more made to or from an “unhosted” wallet, a surveillance threshold that is even lower than that of fiat banking operations.

The next step for the legislation is the announcement at the plenary session of the EU Parliament, which, according to Hansen, could take place sometime in April. Should it remain unchallenged there, the legislation will make its way to the trialogue negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Europe. These negotiations could take months, but their conclusion will mark the draft becoming law. After that, the crypto industry would have from nine to 18 months to come in full compliance with the legislation.

A part of a larger trend

With its increased activity on the crypto regulation front, the European Union isn’t alone in its suspicion of noncustodial wallets. Apart from the local initiatives to impose tighter scrutiny on every crypto transaction, for example, in the Netherlands and Switzerland, U.S. regulators have set their sights on noncustodial wallets in recent years.

In 2020, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that would synchronize the recording and record-keeping requirements for digital assets to those of fiat transfer funds. In the proposed framework, any transactions to or from “unhosted” wallets exceeding $10,000 would require banks and money service businesses to verify the identity of the customer (including name and physical address) and to file this information with FinCEN.

Following this, in 2021, the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) drafted guidance with recommendations for virtual asset providers (VASPs) to classify the transfers to and from “unhosted” wallets as higher-risk transactions, with respective scrutiny and limitations to be applied. The new FATF guidance is also aimed at extending the scope of the Travel Rule to VASPs if a virtual asset transfer involves a self-custodied wallet.

Both proposals faced harsh criticism from the crypto industry stakeholders and were eventually delayed. In January 2022, however, the Department of the Treasury reintroduced the proposal to tighten the grip over noncustodial wallets in its new regulatory plan.

To resist or to adapt?

“Seven years ago, I forecasted that these regulations were coming, it was just a matter of when and under what conditions,” Justin Newton, CEO of compliance solutions provider Netki, commented to Cointelegraph. The firm provides KYC/AML technology and develops remote identity verification solutions for blockchain businesses. Newton pointed out that both the FATF guidance and the legislation in Singapore emphasize both-ends transaction verification.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto highlights the consolidatory dynamic in crypto regulation, which will likely bring FinCEN’s unfinished business back into the spotlight at some point. “Sooner rather than later,” Newton added. He further commented:

“The Biden Executive order specifically spoke about bringing U.S. regulations in line with global standards, and this EU proposal is in line with FATF guidance. The EU vote should trigger U.S. companies to start embracing KYC compliance to get ahead of impending regulations in the states.”

Considering this, Newton believes that the regulators won’t leave the industry any room to ignore their demands. It might be more productive to seek a compromise on the matter, especially given that the problem has its technological solutions. The main threat to privacy isn’t a counterparty knowing who you are, but the fact that on-chain transaction transparency allows both the institutional third parties and curious individuals to track and de-anonymize your activity:

“Fortunately, newer technologies such as Lightning see this level of on-chain transparency as a bug rather than a feature, and we can hope for better privacy for our crypto transactions than is available on most blockchains today.”

What’s next?

While the new rules around “unhosted” wallets will require crypto services providers to adapt, they might be less of a threat to the industry than some stakeholders currently believe. By integrating existing off-the-shelf compliance solutions that equally value privacy, crypto can relatively seamlessly embrace compliance while preserving financial freedoms. Newton said:

“These new rules highlight the need to select compliance solutions that have the vision to see these new rules coming and have built their platforms to be prepared. Today, that means including noncustodial wallets in your Travel Rule solution. Tomorrow, it will be privacy coins and layer-2 networks such as Lightning. The taxman is coming as well, so any Compliance Communications Protocol should be prepared to support those new rules.”

But behind any optimism, problems that can’t be resolved in a win-win fashion remain. In addition to small market players who may not necessarily be in a position to adopt high-end compliance solutions, the tightening scrutiny could undermine global financial inclusion. After all, what regulators call “unhosted” wallets is an essential tool for the underbanked and the financially underserved globally.

Bitcoin runs the world: Traveling to 40 countries in 400 days with BTC

March 16, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin meetup

A runner and Bitcoin hodler from India is on a mission to travel to 40 countries in 400 days using Bitcoin only.

A fast-moving Bitcoiner has run through 7 of 40 countries on his Bitcoin-powered marathon around the world.

Paco the Runner, also known as Paco de la India, set off on Sept. 17, 2021, paying for his entire running trip thanks to all the Bitcoiners around the world. He’s showing that “Bitcoin gives everyone freedom in the way they desire it.”

*Buying an icicle for Sats early on his journey. Source: Twitter*

Paco went from “living a lie on the fiat standard,” to traveling the world living off Bitcoin (BTC) only when a dear friend gifted him the book, The Bitcoin Standard. The reading and subsequent conversations with friends about money and the nature of the world led him down the Bitcoin rabbit hole.

He told Cointelegraph that “once you see it, you can't unsee it." He’d been orange pilled:

“It was a full moon night and my friend asked, do I wanna travel the world? I said yes. He says you have to travel on Bitcoin.”

From that moment onward, Paco’s travel plans morphed into a "Bitcoin awareness, mass adoption, and showing the kindness of humans” campaign. He documents the journey and every Bitcoin transaction via travel vlogs and social media updates.

He is keen to “share Bitcoin with people from different walks of life is a blessing. To be able to share the importance of bitcoin compared to shit coins with everyone is like one of the best works.”

So far he has successfully lived off BTC through the first seven countries of his travels. He only uses "cash for public transport." Nonetheless, the Bitcoin-only journey has not been without hitch.

While visiting Sri Lanka, he lost his “room keys and the hotel owner was upset.”

“I requested for a spare copy and ran to a neighboring town, and there was no electricity. Finally, it came and I asked him will he accept Bitcoin, he said yes. LIKE WTF. BITCOIN KEY MAKER.”

*Paco with the room key he paid for with Sats. Source: Twitter*

He also recalls the moment he arrived at the Koh Samui in Thailand, an island known for its anti-Bitcoin sentiment. He was scared as it was a new island, 100 km big. Panic set in as Paco thought to himself, how I am going to live on such a large island with no money?

Fortunately, he started walking the island and "In 200 meters I saw a sign that said the place accepts Bitcoin. Like the universe conspired for this to happen.”

There’s also:

“A train ride in India and my neighbor had a Trust wallet, gave him few sats and got me dinner for the night. A guide in India, [who I] convinced him to accept Bitcoin. [In] Cambodia, I went for a pub crawl ad paid for it on Bitcoin.”

The list goes on and on: a banana bread baker in Cambodia, “haircuts, burgers, Tuk-tuk, Dentists,” even a “silver coin” paid for with BTC.

*A Tuktuk, a guide and Banana Bread in Siem Reap, Cambodia - all paid for with Bitcoin. Source: Twitter*

It’s not easy, but Paco recommends that for other aspirational Bitcoin travelers, it’s best to start small:

“Orange pill your neighbor, your favorite shop, bar, cinema, start sharing your sats. It's easy for them to learn from a known face like yours. Be that little pebble that you throw in the lake and it will create ripples that coming generations will benefit.”

In the meantime, Paco will continue his runs around the world, meeting Bitcoiners and pre-coiners while spending Sats. He concludes, "every step you take now will shape your future."

Gas heater broke down? I’ll just heat my caravan with a Bitcoin miner

March 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

ASIC

When a propane gas heater stopped working, Bitcoin mining came to the rescue of a cold caravan in Colorado.

Michael Schmid first made contact with Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013; he installed Bitcoin core, mined a few BTC then bought some Bitcoin from MtGox. Schmid told Cointelegraph that shortly after the infamous Mt. Gox hack, in which Schmid lost his Bitcoin, he also “lost interest”.

Timewarp to 2020 and Schmid got “very active again,” as concerns about the “endless money printing” troubled him.

“With that [money printing] I found that I don't agree at all with Fiat money and believe that Bitcoin should be the global reserve currency and a store of value.”

A studious and curious mind, Schmid bored back down the BTC mining rabbit hole, building upon the foundations of knowledge he had excavated 7 years prior. He learned about “ASICs, Antminers and all the other things that happened in the last years in the Bitcoin mining space,” before having a eureka moment.

“It makes much more sense to replace a resistive heater (like a space heater) with a bitcoin miner, as both of them will turn electricity into heat, while the bitcoin miner also generates bitcoin.”

As Schmid was working in an office at the time, he “bought an S9 from a friend and used the S9 miner instead of the space heater to heat my office which worked perfectly.” Schmid has discovered a winning combination.

Schmid's S9 miner in a box below his laptop, with a heat exhaust. Source: Michael Schmid

He could solve valid Bitcoin blocks and reap the rewards while keeping his working and living space nice and warm. Office work aside, Schmid also enjoys traveling across America–often in his American-style campervan, an Airstream.

So when during Schmid’s next trip with his Airstream (see photos), the heating unit suffered intermittent problems, Schmid thought he “could use the S9 heater also to heat the Airstream as a fallback solution.”

*The airstream, parked in snowy Colorado heated by a Bitcoin miner. Source: Michael Schmid*

They say necessity is the mother of invention so Schmid “started to think about how I [he] could build the system.” Space is at a premium in an Airstream and if the S9 were to be placed inside the camper “it would easily overheat the airstream.”

“So I came up with the idea to keep it in a box outside and route the warm air into the airstream.”

*Putting the S9 outside saves space and avoids overheating. Source: Michael Schmid*

After a series of iterations and a few superficial burns, a short circuit and one day in which the airstream’s ambient temperature rivaled a Scandinavian sauna: “[I] got the airstream inside temperature to 90F [32 degrees Celsius] during one day as the heater was running while it shouldn't,” Schmid finally cracked it.

The caravan was kept warm while mining Bitcoin, powered by solar panels on the roof and free campsite electricity–negating the need for burning propane gas. Schmid adds that “we have a quite small airstream (only 22ft), bigger RVs have much bigger propane heater systems and would pay much more for the propane (they could also run more S9 of course).”

But why go to all the effort equipping an RV with a Bitcoin miner? Why not try to fix the propane heater issue?

Granted, it’s a cool Bitcoin side project. However, not only has it solved the intermittent heating issues, but Schmid “saves around 50% of the propane costs which is around $2.7 per day,” and at current estimates, he generates “0.00006259 BTC per day.”

All in, Schmid and his fiancé “technically heat the airstream for free” all while securing the Bitcoin network.

Satoshi would probably be proud of the tidy bitcoin heating setup. Source: Schmid

Schmid shared a message to any aspiring miners:

“I really encourage anybody to play with home mining, I truly believe that one of the most important things of Bitcoin is the decentralization of not only the coins but also the mining infrastructure."

In a word of encouragement, he concludes "the more home mining setups that are out there the better.”

The Bitcoin Family talks about traveling, giving and orange-pilling

March 2, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Trader

Didi Taihuttu, the father and husband of the Bitcoin Family shares life advice extending to happiness, charity and Bitcoin nomadism in a Cointelegraph video interview.

Seasoned crypto enthusiasts will remember Didi Taihuttu as the man who went all-in on Bitcoin (BTC) in 2016. He sold his and his family’s possessions. camping out in the Netherlands while he waited for Bitcoin to the moon.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Taihuttu recalls how it felt to own almost nothing but Bitcoin, 6 years ago:

“I don’t have any cars, motorbikes, nothing. And I’m happier than ever. And she [Taihuttu's wife] agrees! At that moment we decide to break that chain and lead by example for the kids.”

He explains his realization that life is about accumulating happiness, “instead of accumulating wealth.” Hence, the Bitcoin Family was born. The three daughters “only have Bitcoin, not bank accounts,” while the parents have never looked back on their former lives.

The fivesome has spent the past five years traveling the world, settling on Southern Portugal as one nomadic base for living. They're in good company to promote the Bitcoiner lifestyle down there; Portugal is a growing hub for the seminal cryptocurrency.

Taihuttu concedes that there are, of course, challenges regarding how to travel the world living off a Bitcoin standard–particularly while looking after three teenage daughters.

However, it hasn’t stopped other explorer families from following in their footsteps. Taihuttu cites that “six families” have since sold all their possessions, à la Bitcoin Family, to enjoy the Bitcoin lifestyle.

The Bitcoin Family. Source: thebitcoinfamily.com

Closer to home, Taihuttu orange-pilled his brother and sister, even persuading them to take part in the traveling lifestyle. He concludes that “the decentralized digital nomad lifestyle is the future.”

Taihuttu is wildly generous, giving away something in the order of 40% of his wealth to charities. Profits from trading, affiliate links, book sales, merchandise sales and other “digital nomad” activities are funneled into charity projects.

*Bitcoin Family charity projects. Source: thebitcoinfamily.com*

For example, they have built a school in Mexico for disadvantaged children as well as an orphanage in Venezuela. Naturally, though, there’s a Bitcoin twist.

As the video details with a Mario illustration, it’s a three-step process to orange pill and establish a charity.

Teach Bitcoin
Learn how to exchange it
Grow adoption

While the projects are not born Bitcoin-only, they are certainly not centralized:

“The CEO of a centralized organization [charity] will be driving a BMW. We don’t want that, we do peer to peer.”

The objective for Taihuttu is to engage with other orange-pilled people wherever they travel. They then sit down together and scope out the sources of concern, addressing the issues that would make the biggest positive impact.

The process stems from one of Taihuttu’s many mantras, “Everyone with a heartbeat and a telephone should be able to transact value all over the world.” Bitcoin is that solution and it should inevitably become an intrinsic part of charity projects.

In all, although the Bitcoin Family will continue their world travels, their focus is now firmly on Europe. El Salvador and the next country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender are of course attractive travel destinations, but Taihuttu is passionate about his home continent’s journey towards Bitcoin adoption.

Can crypto be used to prove financial independence for travel visas?

February 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

"There could be individual situations where a consulate might also accept other proof of assets, such as crypto-assets," said Laura Bernard of the European Commission.

For international travelers still able to cross borders amid an ongoing pandemic, using cryptocurrency to prove they have the means to sustain themselves abroad is a relatively new concept.

Many countries around the world are closed to visitors in an effort to protect their residents from COVID-19, but some have continued to allow students, retirees, and others seeking medium- to long-term stays through immigration. Under normal circumstances, entrants are sometimes required to present evidence of funds, both to show they have the necessary savings to provide for themselves and are less likely to work illegally.

The definition of this “Evidence of Funds” or “Proof of Funds” can be fluid, but is usually considered a bank statement, a line of credit, or simply showing an immigration officer cash holdings. However, of the 195 recognized countries on the planet, some have hinted they are open to accepting cryptocurrency as proof of financial sufficiency — as long as liquidity was established.

“In my 15+ years, I've never seen a consulate accept non-liquid financial documents, such as a holding portfolio, even if there are seven figures in the account,” said Evan James, COO of visa and passport processing company Peninsula Visa. “I do understand that crypto is liquid but I think it would need to present almost as a bank account [...] in the event an applicant would want to use a crypto account, the onus would be on them to make sure the consulate is comfortable with its liquidity.”

The United Kingdom's government website said that "Bitcoin savings" was unacceptable financial evidence for student visa applicants. One of the consulates from a Schengen member — which includes 26 European countries — told Peninsula Visa that it would only be willing to accept fiat bank statements at this time for proof of funds. However, other immigration departments hinted that there was nothing explicitly prohibiting travelers from using crypto to meet this requirement.

"There is no ban on using cryptocurrency as evidence of funds but applicants would need to provide evidence of the amount and ownership,” said Immigration New Zealand manager Marc Piercey. “Visa applicants are likely to find it easier to show more traditional forms of funds such as bank statements or credit card balances.”

Laura Bernard, press officer for the European Commission, reiterated that bank statements or proof of income was needed “in almost all cases,” but added that there wasn’t a universal policy for all EU member nations:

“As each visa application is assessed on a case-by-case basis, there is no one-size-fits-all rule regarding the proof of sufficient financial means. As a result, there could be individual situations where a consulate might also accept other proof of assets, such as crypto-assets, whenever this is justified by the particular circumstances of the applicant and the intended journey.”

Cointelegraph reporter Brian Quarmby, a HODLer who plans to relocate abroad, said he presented his crypto portfolio, salary history, and “a tiny bit of cash” to a consular officer as part of his application for a spousal visa. At the time of publication, the country is closed to short-term visitors and only recently reopened for a limited number of foreign students and business travelers.