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Liberation Travel Hacks 02/2026
"Technology leads, politicians just follow" is a famous quote from my friend Frank Braun that I've remembered for a decade and see everywhere around me.
Politicians and bureaucrats constantly impose restrictions that limit our freedom and privacy.
And it is precisely disruptive technologies that are restoring our freedom and privacy.
The best examples are Bitcoin and VPN/Tor.
Both are disruptive technologies that undermine power structures – the centralized, monopolized banking system and state efforts to censor or control Internet content (yes, that includes European Chat/Age Control).
From 2026, EU legislation DAC 8 will come into force, making all crypto transactions on centralized platforms completely transparent.
If you, as a European citizen, use centralized exchanges or any other centralized crypto platforms, the state/tax office will know everything about you.
In a situation where a French tax office employee leaked internal information about people who own crypto to the mafia, who then organized armed robberies, I don't think it's a good idea to tell the state how much crypto you have (or if you have any at all). And in 2026, you will be doing just that by using state-regulated, centralized crypto services.
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I was extremely pleased that with the advent of DAC 8 dystopia, new disruptive technologies emerged.
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I will describe two technologies from last month that will preserve your privacy and increase your freedom despite new government regulations:
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- ZKP2P is the first trusted DeFi P2P on/off-ramp service that enables a new way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies (crypto-fiat, both ways).
It is fully decentralized (without a centralized administrator, the state cannot seize control and regulate) and free of the risk of fraud. ZKP2P cryptographic proofs allow automatic verification that sellers have transferred the correct value to buyers. Non-custodial smart contracts handle the settlement. Everything is done in 60 seconds.
Something like Binance P2P, but decentralized and without KYC.
Something like Bisq, but much easier to use, with lower fees.
Something like Vexl, but you don't have to give anyone your number, and you can trade with completely anonymous people (you are not limited to a trusted circle of acquaintances).
Although ZKP2P only allows you to buy and sell stablecoins, you can swap any crypto into them anonymously – without telling the government (via Zashi, Near Intents, Thorswap, Thorchain, or other services) – because the law of cryptocurrency isomorphism applies in crypto. Buying and selling only stablecoins in a trackable world is, on the contrary, an advantage, as you can avoid capital gains (and any taxes on them).
ZKP2P is currently only supported by global banks (including Revolut, N26, and Wise), but it is easy to add support for any local banks.
In the end, you make an instant bank transfer (you can enter any payment description), but no one knows that it is for the sale/purchase of crypto. And indeed not the tax office, which, as we can see, can actually threaten your physical safety.
Centralized state-regulated exchanges are dead. DAC 8 killed them completely.
- If you offer any services or products in the EU for Bitcoin/crypto and do not operate your own BTCPayServer but instead use third-party services to receive payments, the operators of these services are automatically subject to MiCA regulation. They must perform full KYC on their customers. In practice, this means crypto customers will likely never order from you again because they are unwilling to go through the bureaucracy and the loss of privacy that is currently unavoidable in the EU, in this case. Operating your own BTCPayServer can be challenging (you need a VPS, Docker, nodes, and a skilled admin). Fortunately, a great new, simple alternative called CashuPayServer has emerged, allowing you to do something magical – use the lightning capabilities of Cashu mints to accept Bitcoin anonymously. You don't need to know what Cashu tokens are. In the end, you get Bitcoin Lightning. And you can run a payment gateway, just like an e-shop, on PHP hosting for $3/month. You can withdraw Cashu tokens to a Lightning address, BOLT-11 invoice, or as Cashu tokens. You can enable automatic withdrawal to a Lightning address. Everything is free and open source.
And all without performing any KYC or compromising your customers' privacy.
Long live disruptive technologies!
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Pavol Lupták, February 3, 2026, Bratislava
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EU
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On Wednesday, June 21, 2025, something extraordinary took place in the European Parliament. It was not another technocratic debate full of official rhetoric. It was an open, even shocking accusation of the current state of freedom of expression in the European Union. Irish politician Clare Daly and Australian digital rights researcher Andrew Lowenthal warned against what they called "new repression" – a quiet but systematic attack on the fundamental freedoms of EU citizens. This is how freedom of expression dies: Report from the European Parliament.
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Welcome to a dystopian EU without financial anonymity:
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From 2026, DAC 8 legislation will apply in the EU, making all crypto transactions on centralized platforms completely transparent. This means:
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1. Do not expect any privacy when using these platforms in the EU.
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2. If you have not yet started using decentralized (DEX) services/exchanges, it will be a literal "must" in 2026.
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3. If you have to use centralized services/exchanges, only use KYC for your Paraguayan ID; do not use any documents issued in the EU.
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Anonymity in the EU is dead; people are stopping using crypto to buy everyday things because KYC is practically impossible to avoid, and the process is more complicated than just paying by card. After 15 years of crypto boost, we are returning to the era of cash, centralized, spying, and inflationary banking.
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The Netherlands
The Netherlands is set to tax unrealized capital gains from bitcoins, stocks, bonds, and other assets after parliament voted to revise annual tax returns. Under the new system, investors will be required to pay tax each year based on changes in the value of their assets, even if they have not sold anything. The reform, known as Wet werkelijk rendement Box 3, is scheduled for 2028 and will tax actual returns by measuring the difference between the asset's value at the beginning and end of the year, plus any income earned. This means that both realized and unrealized gains will be taxed. Critics warn that this change could cause severe liquidity problems and force investors to pay taxes on paper gains without cashing them out. In any case, Paraguay is starting to be populated by Dutch people.
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UK
US
In California, things are no better – both Google owners are leaving. Even if you are a staunch Democrat like Larry Page or Sergey Brin, you really don't want to pay the millionaire tax in California.
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Australia
Georgia
At the end of the year, we terminated our cooperation with Bank of Georgia at Liberation.Travel because they began to harass our clients across the board and without reason (more information in our newsletter Liberation Travel Hacks 11/2025). We established cooperation with the competing TBC bank and tested the opening of TBC Concept premium accounts.
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1. TBC Concept is cheaper than an account with the Bank of Georgia
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The premium TBC Concept account comes with two different cards — the TBC Concept card, which costs 250 GEL/year (300 GEL/year for Georgian non-residents, which is 7.80 EUR/month), and the elite TBC Concept 360, which costs 400 GEL/year (for non-residents 500 GEL/year, which is 13 EUR/month). For comparison, the SOLO Club at Bank of Georgia costs 800 GEL/year, and the SOLO Premium costs 550 GEL/year.
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A personal banker, VISA Signature, and Fast Track service are the reasons why we recommend choosing the higher TBC Concept 360 program (when paying a year in advance, the monthly fee is only 13 EUR).
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2. TBC Concept cards offer cashback of up to 2.1%, even outside Georgia
Bank of Georgia cards allow you to collect PLUS points, which, unfortunately, can only be spent in Georgia. Payment with a TBC Concept 360 card gives you a standard cashback of 0.7%, and, when paying for certain goods (food, fuel, medicines), up to 2.1%. Paying with a TBC Concept 360 card gives you a standard cashback of 0.7% and up to 2.1% when paying for certain types of goods (food, fuel, medicines), even for any foreign payments. For this reason, even people who do not live in Georgia can take advantage of the TBC Concept cashback.
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3. Instant top-up of your TBC account with your foreign VISA/Mastercard cards
4. Support for local crypto exchanges
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TBC Bank, like Bank of Georgia, directly supports Georgia's largest crypto exchange, cryptal.com.
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If you want to exchange crypto for fiat in Georgia, we recommend doing so in the following order (ranked from least risky to most risky):
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- Use our private P2P Signal group for Georgian account holders. Crypto transfers are only within our community of customers and friends.
- Use the cryptal.com exchange — if you don't want your account to be blocked, we recommend using your TBC account for regular fiat transactions/payments, not just crypto transfers.
- Use Binance P2P — although it works in Georgia, you are buying and selling crypto from random people, which means that if you make repeated purchases, the bank may block your account in a short time (Binance P2P works great in Kyrgyzstan or Paraguay, for example).
5. Elite Travel Card
If you opt for the higher TBC Concept 360 program, you can also apply for an elite Travel card for 30 GEL (9.30 EUR) per month. Holders of this card have the following benefits:
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- Earning Miles&Smiles miles (Turkish Airlines) — when purchasing tickets with your travel card on Turkish Airlines online platforms (website, mobile app), at service centers, or call centers, you earn 5 miles for every 1 GEL spent, which means that for a ticket worth 1,000 GEL, you earn 5,000 miles.
- Miles collected with the travel card are credited to the user's Miles&Smiles account daily, and transactions made in GEL using the travel card (except for payments via wallet) will earn 30% of the transaction amount in miles for all stages of international travel — from planning (tickets from any airline, hotel reservations) to the trip itself (transportation, shopping, dining, entertainment, etc.). Example: For a transaction worth 1,000 GEL, you will receive 300 miles. For transactions in foreign currency or made using digital wallets, miles are calculated based on the transaction amount's GEL equivalent. You can use your accumulated miles to purchase Turkish Airlines bonus tickets and enjoy services such as class upgrades, baggage fees, preferred seat selection, ticket price protection, purchases of products and services through the Shop&Miles platform, and more.
- You automatically get 30 free airport lounge visits per year + you can bring 4 guests for free (!) If you spend at least 5000 GEL (1564 EUR) per month with your card, you will have unlimited lounge visits.
- You get the Fastrack service for free.
- If you decide not to get the Travel card and only use the TBC Concept VISA Signature card, you get 10 visits to airport lounges if you spend at least 1500 GEL (469 EUR) per month with your card, or unlimited visits to airport lounges if you spend at least 5000 GEL (1564 EUR) per month with your card.
- Every year, you can take advantage of a free 30 GB data roaming package for Europe and Turkey.
- 30-day TBC Insurance travel package per year, free of charge with zero co-payment, high coverage limits, and luggage/trip cancellation insurance (activated via TBC Mobile Banking).
- Up to 180 days of Visa international travel insurance per year, provided that travel-related expenses are paid with the travel card.
- Bolt Taxi — 50% discount on rides to or from airports in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Berlin, Munich, Paris, London, Prague, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Budapest, and Baku. Valid for both immediate and pre-planned rides. To use this service, add your travel card to the Bolt app.
- The Visa Concierge × TBC Concept chatbot is available to help you book flights, search for hotels, and handle other travel matters at any time.
6. Visa 24/7 concierge service
- The chatbot is only available to TBC Concept VISA Signature debit card holders.
- Map of branches and ATMs;
- Local and international offers;
- Travel-related services;
- Terms and conditions of use of the International Lounge Key;
- Terms and conditions of use of the Meet & Assist service;
- Use of the FastTrack service;
- Internet roaming packages with special terms and conditions;
- Information and advisory services;
- Information about the benefits of Visa Signature and Travel Visa Signature cards:
- Organizational issues.
7. Easy opening of a TBC Concept account
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Opening a TBC Concept account is very easy for clients:
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We can open a premium TBC Concept account remotely via a power of attorney, which we apostille on the client's behalf and deliver to Georgia.
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The client only needs to pay the invoice (in crypto/fiat) and send us the signed power of attorney in PDF format, along with a scan of their passport.
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The TBC Concept account is opened based on your passport — you can use your non-EU address (e.g., in Paraguay) where you have tax residency.
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In about a week, we will receive the apostilled power of attorney, translate it into Georgian, and immediately open a TBC Concept account for the client. The bank will then send them their cards (VISA Signature, Mastercard World Elite, or Travel VISA Signature card) anywhere in the world.
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All our customers are also automatically added to our Signal plus P2P crypto trade support groups, whose membership is invaluable.
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The price to open a TBC Concept 360 account is EUR 1,337, including all costs (preparation of the power of attorney, apostille, certified translations, account opening, card issuance, delivery costs, and membership in our Signal groups).
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Georgia requires mandatory travel insurance upon entry from 2026 (I recommend Alpenverein). I was there in early January on a skiing trip, and they didn't ask for anything upon entry.
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If you want to exchange any amount between GEL and USD/EUR, or USD/EUR and GEL, try the Kursi money exchange service. They offer much better rates than any bank.
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I try to minimize driving – for long distances, I prefer to fly or take the train (except in Slovakia), and for short distances, I ride my bike. This also applies to family trips. Driving requires a lot of concentration – and when I drive all day, I waste all the productivity that I could have devoted to work or family. As I do every year on New Year's Day, I decided to go on a family ski trip to Gudauri, Georgia (as a bonus, I will experience another Orthodox Christmas on January 7, 2026). This time, however, I didn't rent a car; instead, I took advantage of Georgia's unregulated capitalism, which allows anyone with a vehicle to operate as a transport service. As a bourgeois, I hired my own driver with his own car for all our family trips in Georgia. I tried the excellent Georgian service GoTrip, where you choose any place in Georgia from which you want to travel and to which you want to travel, and how many people are there. You will see a large number of offers from drivers who are happy to do it for you for a fee. Of course, you choose the cheapest driver with the best reputation, pay them by card or cash, and you have your own personal driver. The driver will wait for you with a sign bearing your name right at the airport, may take you on a tour of Georgian attractions, and drive you to your destination. And it's not expensive at all – a minibus for 6 people from Kutaisi Airport to Tbilisi costs EUR 100 (the journey takes 3.5–4 hours), and the price includes fuel (most cars here run on gas) and stops for toilet/food breaks. So, a large vehicle for 6 people for about €25/hour, including fuel(!) If you want to try it out in Georgia, don't hesitate to use my referral.
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Kyrgyzstan
Paraguay
Our Paraguayan customers have started selling sandwiches in Asunción and are now also operating through pedidosya. Don't hesitate to try them.
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Honduras
Kosovo
The most capitalist country in Europe or the Paraguay of Europe? How low taxes and minimal regulation kick-started Kosovo's economic growth
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For several months now, my friends have been recommending that I visit Kosovo—the "last" European mecca of unrestrained capitalism.
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So I bought cheap tickets (Austrian Airlines and Wizz Air fly from Vienna) and decided to spend a long weekend there.
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Arrival in Pristina
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Unlike North Macedonia or the Serbian border, Pristina surprised me with its cleanliness and smoothness, great restaurants (at half the price compared to Slovakia) and services (I tried a reputable barber who cut my hair for €6 — I asked him repeatedly if he meant €16 because I couldn't believe the price :)
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Although Kosovo is not part of the EU, it has decided to adopt the euro as its official currency so that you can pay in euros (cash or cards) everywhere.
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Uber/Bolt do not operate in Kosovo, but they have several of their own ride-sharing services. Throughout Pristina, I used the ETAXI electronic taxi app (average price €3-4). I was surprised to find a ride-sharing app with a fleet of Teslas, which is very popular here, so there are lots of Tesla taxis throughout Pristina, which I haven't seen in any other country yet.
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Another attribute of civilization was good coffee — I tried my favorite app, European Coffee Trip. I found three great cafes in the center of Pristina and visited them, where I had my favorite V60 and Chemex.
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Accommodation in Pristina is about half the price of Bratislava. You can find a luxury apartment on Booking.com or Airbnb for €40–50 / night.
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Kosovars have strong ties to Germany/Switzerland, so export/import between these countries works very well. German supermarkets have branches in Kosovo, and practically everything you can buy in Germany is also available there. However, if you want local prices, look for local products or services.
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Taxes and economic growth
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Although Kosovo is a poor country by European standards, it is currently experiencing significantly higher economic growth.
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- 0% if you have an income of up to €960 per year
- 4% if you have an income of up to EUR 3,000 per year
- 8% if your annual income is up to EUR 5,400.
- For any income above EUR 5,400, 10% per year.
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Corporate tax in Kosovo is 3–8% for small businesses and 10% for large companies.
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Social security/pension contributions in Kosovo are 10% in total (5% + 5%).
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VAT (standard rate) is 18% in Kosovo.
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- tax on dividends, both for local and foreign companies
- Withholding tax on dividends
- inheritance/gift tax
- property tax (net wealth).
- real estate transfer tax
- mandatory health insurance contributions (!) (of course, there are a bunch of health insurance companies in Kosovo where you can voluntarily insure yourself for anything)
Health tourism in Kosovo
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Despite the absence of compulsory health insurance (or rather because of it), Kosovo is becoming a country where medical tourism is beginning to flourish.
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I received recommendations for several high-quality dental clinics:
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Non-CRS bank accounts
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Kosovo has not signed the CRS espionage legislation and has no plans to do so yet!
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You can easily open a bank account in Kosovo as a foreigner with a passport if you show proof of connection to Kosovo (a utility bill or a rental agreement with a Kosovo company is sufficient) — you do not need residency there.
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I recommend opening a bank account at Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, TEB Bank, or ProCredit Bank. Your bank account will be in euros by default, which is Kosovo's official currency. Unlike Serbia, foreign transfers outside Kosovo are not restricted in any way (no statement of no tax arrears from the tax office is required, as is the case in Serbia).
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I personally visited TEB Bank, where the bank employees explained everything to me nicely. Although your bank account is in euros, Kosovo is not part of SEPA, so you still have to make international transfers to the EU.
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Kosovars use the IBAS or Paysera apps, which allow them to send money easily and cheaply to anyone in the world, including in the EU. Paysera is also popular in Georgia.
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Crypto
Kosovo is not in the EU, so nonsense like MiCA and DAC8, which completely killed crypto, does not apply here. I found several stores that publicly accepted crypto payments. Similarly, there are crypto exchange offices on the street. Notable DEX and P2P services are in full swing in Kosovo (Binance P2P is also available).
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Festivals
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Kosovo is a country of festivals.
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The top Balkan international film and music festival is Dokufest, which will take place next on August 7-15, 2026.
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Other festivals featuring experimental music include NGOM and ReMusica.
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Conclusion
Kosovo is not a typical tourist destination, nor is it yet the Dubai of the Balkans, where you can go to find work. It is still a relatively poor country, but it has taken the proper steps and set out on its own path to greater economic prosperity, implementing positive reforms and showing the prosperous, stagnant EU that it is still possible to move forward.
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Bitcoin, Monero, ZCash, and cryptocurrencies
Insights from a pleasant meeting of Bitcoiners in Bratislava:
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- Thanks to MiCA and DAC8 EU regulations, virtually no one uses centralized exchanges anymore—everyone operates through Vexl, Robosats, Bisq2, and now also ZKP2P.
- Due to Slovakia's progressive tax rate of up to 35% and 16% health insurance contributions, most people are considering either tax residency in Paraguay or in the Czech Republic, or possibly Bitcoin loans.
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In the end, almost none of the Slovak Bitcoiners are spied on (KYC) or taxed.
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European/state crypto regulations have made non-KYC/decentralized exchanges and Paraguayan/Czech tax residency MAINSTREAM (at least in Slovakia).
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And I'm pleased about that!
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Privacy
AdNauseam is a free browser extension that hides browsing data and protects users from being tracked by ad networks.
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Your phone number can reveal whether your device is active, in standby mode, or offline (and other information). This PoC (Device Activity Tracker) demonstrates how delivery confirmations and RTT timing reveal sensitive device activity patterns (WhatsApp/Signal).
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A series of articles on privacy by Glok.me:
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- At a time when your smartphone can reveal your location to anyone willing to pay for it, airplane mode is one of the simplest yet most effective tools for protecting yourself from physical threats and digital intrusions.
- Your SIM card is a tracking device.
I have become an enthusiast for and user of the decentralized Meshcore network, which already covers all of Western Slovakia. Juraj Bednár connected Bitchat to Meshcore, so we are now ready for any apocalypse (Internet outage or censorship). Bitchat is a Bluetooth mesh network for phones within a 100-meter range. MeshCore, on the other hand, can cover many kilometers with inexpensive hardware. This bridge connects them.
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Travel Hacks
I'm not a shitcoiner, but I realized that I'm already staking 4 types of shitcoins and 2 NFTs.
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- 2,500 AVA tokens to reach Platinum level on Travala.com + another 2 Travala NFTs to reach Diamond level. As a frequent traveler, Travala makes sense to me, and this investment has paid off many times over.
- 15,000 ETHFI tokens to get the Luxe tier on Ether.fi, which I think is the best alternative to XAPO – a stablecoin crypto card.
- At least 100 VVV tokens to get unlimited "Pro" access to privacy-aware Venice.AI, which aggregates all open source LLM models and allows anonymous access to paid models (GPT 5.2, Claude OPUS 4.5, Gemini 3, and others).
- And to have unlimited access to these paid models, where you pay "Pay Per Use", I am also staking DIEM tokens, which allow me to do so. This will enable me to access my Claude Code to Venice.AI API via the following proxy—more information on why you want DIEM tokens.
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Of course, it's a good idea to hedge all shitcoins (for example, on Binance) because their value fluctuates wildly.
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Important note – I don't pay for ChatGPT – I have anonymized access to GPT 5.2 through my Venice.AI.
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I don't pay for Gemini Pro either, because I get a free trial of this model every year with my new Google Pixel phone.
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If you ever travel to the third world, specifically Africa, you need to read this. Basically, go to Temu, order 30 cheap, shiny-looking watches for $1 each, and take one with you on your trip.
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Interesting links
You must own some assets (Bitcoin, real estate, stocks, anything) in the future, because it will be difficult, if not impossible, to make a living from intellectual work, thanks to AI. You have 5 years left to get rich.
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Humanity is divided into three types of people: conformists, who represent the vast majority, plus a relatively small number of Mavericks and psychopaths.
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As a civilisation rises, the Mavericks lead by default. They are the creators of new knowledge, they discover new opportunities, and they explore both geographically and intellectually. However, as bureaucracy increases over time, this enables the psychopaths to take control slowly. The bureaucrats, typically the most fearful subset of conformists, are uniquely vulnerable to manipulation and recruit easily to the psychopath's cause—the Maverick Strain.
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Events
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