How to survive on crypto in 2025 as a digital nomad

Opportunist.Global

Life on fiat is becoming more difficult.

Make an easy experiment in 2025:

Try to send more than 10.000 USD to any non-EU bank from your EU bank account

Using fiat is a way more complicated

Problems:

• There is a lot of KYC/AML bureaucracy (so many stupid questions about small transactions, especially out of the SEPA system)
• Transaction tax (available in Slovakia, Hungary, Venezuela)
• Cash is not welcome - Cash limits & Cash restrictions
• Risk of seizure or freezing transactions
• Complete surveillance

Privacy pyramide of crypto

1. Ideal privacy: Anonymous cash (Monero, Bitcoin Lightning, Cashu)

2. Semi-ideal privacy: Pseudo-anonymous, decentralized crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, DAI, LUSD, etc.)

3. Less privacy & More centralization: Pseudo-anonymous, centralized crypto (USDT / USDC stablecoins).

Direct crypto payments require high crypto adoption and (ideally, non-KYC) crypto/fiat exchanges.

Privacy pyramide of fiat

1. Ideal privacy: Cash (is the king)

2. Better privacy: Bank account and (crypto) payment cards from the financial institution in the non-CRS country (Paraguay, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia)

3. Acceptable privacy: Bank account in (crypto payments) cards from the CRS country where it is possible to register your non-CRS tax residency (e.g., open your Bank of Georgia bank account or XAPO account with your Paraguayan Tax ID).

4. No privacy: Bank/fiat account in the CRS country (most countries including the EU), e.g., complete reporting of all transactions inside of Slovakia

If you fear governments / third parties, you should always care about your privacy!

Advantages of crypto over fiat

• Full self-custody = Full Control, cannot be seized (must use non-custodial wallets, decentralized stablecoins)
• Better privacy, cannot be tracked (Monero, Bitcoin Lightning, Cashu)
• Permissionless (no need for third party)

• Global by default (one wallet = entire planet, no IBAN's, no SWIFT codes)

• Resistant to Censorship, Freezing

If it is possible, prefer always crypto

(more privacy = usually less potential problems)

Anonymous crypto cash - Monero

• Monero is still alive and improving (FCMP++)
• Always prefer non-KYC services; check KYCNotMe
• Change your non-anonymous crypto to XMR - Trocador.app, Tradeogre, BasicSwapDEX, Exolix, SeraiDEX)
• Change your fiat to XMR (always prefer non-KYC services; check Haveno or trusted OTC service)
• XMR is pretty well accepted (many VPN and web/server hosting providers accept it - check monerica.com; even PornHub Premium can be bought using XMR :-)
• Check the biggest Monero bazaar, XMRBazaar

Anonymous crypto - Bitcoin Lightning

• Unlike Bitcoin, it provides you with a significant privacy upgrade.
• Always prefer non-KYC services; check KYCNotMe.
• Use anonymous crypto ATMs, Bisq, Vexl.it, private Signal/Session/SimpleX/Threema vexl groups to buy or change your BTC using Boltz.Exchange
• Prefer your own LN node, LND, CLN (I use AlbyHub), and use a non-custodial wallet (Phoenix, Zeus, Breez)
• Use BitRefill everywhere where it's possible
• Many KYC fiat services now accept LN deposits (XAPO, ZEN, Strike)

BitRefill is an underrated crypto service.

Their offer is just in the Czech Republic

Anonymous crypto cash - Cashu

• Cashu stands out as one of the implementations of Chaumian e-cash, alongside projects like Fedimint.

• Cashu relies on mints, effectively Lightning nodes, to issue tokens representing Bitcoin holdings. These tokens enable anonymous transactions within the Mint's network.
  The beauty of Cashu lies in its blinding mechanism, which ensures that even the mint operator is unaware of token ownership and transaction details.

• Cashu can be used for fully offline transactions and is backed by anything.
• It is still an experimental project with a low adoption.

Pseudo-anonymous decentralized crypto Bitcoin and shitcoins

• Travala.com  - probably the best portal to buy flight tickets, accommodation, and activities for crypto
• For professional travelers, I recommend Platinum for AVA token staking or the Diamond AVA Smart program, which additionally requires the NFT.
• With Platinum / Diamond Smart programs and cashback, you can achieve better prices than booking.com, but it has a smaller coverage than booking.com
• Check also Destinia, Wirex Travel, XcelTrip
• ShopinBit - Buy anything with Bitcoin, Monero and Crypto

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Travala Diamond AVA Smart Program

You can buy Airbnb vouchers with BitRefill in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, and most EU countries, including Slovakia

Pseudo-anonymous centralized crypto (stablecoin) cards

• Crypto card issuers are often located in the CRS countries; therefore, it is HIGHLY recommended to use always your non-CRS tax residency (Paraguay)
• Recommended crypto cards that work perfectly with Paraguayan residency
  • XAPO
  • Redotpay
  • Cypher HQ card
  • crypto.com
• With Panamanian residency
  • Lulubit
• With Argentinian residency
  • Lemon.me (with Mercado Pago integration)

Pay any bill by SEPA using Bitcoin Lightning or Onchain

• https://bringin.xyz/
• Minimum 15 EUR per transaction
• Can be paid immediately using Bitcoin Lightning & SEPA payment
• KYC requires the EU address + passport
• 2 Tiers
  • Up to 10k (default tier)
  • Up to 100k (proof of address is required + source of funds)

Cash payments

• Cash is king, but it is always hard to bring a lot of cash (limits 10k USD when crossing borders, ATM cash limits, etc.)
• In many countries, Bitcoin/crypto ATMs still offer cash (with no KYC for transactions less than 1000 USD), so always check CoinATMRadar. OTC providers / local crypto dealers can also provide some cash.
• Check Vexl, especially in Central Europe; it may work well
• You can pick up a lot of cash from the ATM everywhere cheaply using Bank of Georgia's SOLO Club VISA Signature Card or Bakai's VISA Infinite (you can open both accounts on your passport with the tax residency in a non-CRS country, like Paraguay)
• Or use Western Union (it requires KYC) to send/receive money anywhere

Non-CRS bank account

• Non-CRS means more privacy = no automatic reporting out of the country - if you care about your privacy, a non-CRS bank account is necessary.
   
• Kyrgyzstan's Bakai.kg with VISA Infinite — we can help you open it remotely on your passport and apostilled PoA.
   
• All Paraguay bank accounts - can be easily opened on the Paraguayan cedula (Paraguayan residency is required) unless you have an official income in Paraguay; these bank accounts are basic with 1000 USD monthly limits :(
   
• Cambodia - remotely using Relocatify, but for VISA/Mastercard cards, a physical visit is necessary

CRS bank account with non-CRS tax residency

• One of the best banks for digital nomads is the Bank of Georgia, offering 3 SOLO packages (SOLO X, SOLO Premium, SOLO Club)
• We can help you open it on your passport with tax residency in a non-CRS country (like Paraguay)
• You don't need proof of address; you need your passport to open the bank account.
• You can use any tax residency in the world (only these countries are prohibited: Iran, Syria, Iraq, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Cuba)

7 reasons why you need a Georgian bank account

1. Airline lounges, virtual assistants, and many benefits
2. Bank accounts are automatically held in USD, EUR, GBP, and GEL (Georgian Lari)
3. Speed of bank transactions, VISA Signature, VISA Platinum, Mastercard Word Elite debit cards, American Express credit card
4. You can use any tax residency anywhere
5. Georgia’s largest crypto exchange, cryptal.com, supports the Bank of Georgia
6. Possibility of secure login via DIGIPASS
7. Possibility to open a bank account in Georgia entirely remotely

Binance P2P

• This is the reason why it is a good idea to have residency in every country where you spend some time (I have it in Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and now I am asking for Argentina and Mexico)
• You can now open Binance with the Paraguayan cedula (strongly recommended) and do KYC with Paraguayan documents.
• It works perfectly with all Paraguayan banks (instead of cards, you can pay with the QR code), Panamanian, and Georgian banks.
• Be aware -> you can always receive the crypto/fiat from a criminal subject, and the bank can close your bank account -> this happened and happens all the time.`

Bank accounts / financial services in the CRS countries for EU/UK residents only

• Those can be opened with the EU/EU residency only (Revolut, N26, Zen)
• If you care about privacy, you should avoid using these services

Don't want to pay taxes/healthcare/social insurance:

Live from the (crypto) loan!

• Full decentralized
  • AAVE.com, liquity.org, and also check aggregators Summer.fi, Defillama
• Decentralized contract / one trusted  company
  • Firefish.io
• Fully centralized
  • nexo.com
• Great online course - How to harness the value of Bitcoin without having to sell it (ebook, mini-course)

My personal setup

My personal setup II

• For travel bookings, I use Travala.com
• I use BitRefill wherever possible
• I use a Paraguayan Personal SIM card and anonymous eSIM via mobimatter.com (Spark eSIM)
• In each country, I am trying to use the local crypto services/crypto exchanges and local bank accounts & cards (topped up by crypto)
• I am avoiding international fiat transactions, which are considered suspicious and often inspected by banks - for international transfers, crypto is always better.

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Thanks for your attention!

iam@opportunist.global