Liberation Travel Hacks 05/2024

The situation is serious. Very serious!
Digital privacy has NEVER suffered such a blow from the states as in recent days.
The Crypto Wars of the 90s are not coming back; they are already in 2024 in full force and at maximum aggression:
  1. Roman Storm, the developer of the open-source privacy mixing project Tornado Cash, has been arrested by US authorities and is facing a hefty sentence.
  2. Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the authors of the open-source privacy mixing project Samourai Wallet, have been arrested by the US authorities and are facing a heavy sentence.
  3. After these events, the developers of the decentralized mixing service Incognito.org became scared and stopped operating this excellent service.
  4. The developers of the excellent privacy mixing project Wassabi Wallet and Phoenix have also gotten scared and are leaving the US market.
  5. Wassabi is also shutting down its key CoinJoin functionality as of the first of June (although they were doing an entry check for coins on US sanctions lists). They're scared, and none want to end up in jail for "aiding and abetting money laundering," after all.
  6. The LocalMonero/AgoraDesk service completely shuts down operations.
  7. The EU has firmly banned anonymous cryptocurrencies in hosted wallets, starting from any amount.
  8. The EU is considering banning end-to-end encrypted communications to detect child porn. This is dealt with realistically in the EU Parliament, and these lobbying pressures are extremely strong.
  9. My friends in the UK are really scared to use Monero, which has been banned in the UK and delisted by centralized exchanges. They started to feel like criminals.
  10. Although I love the Monero project and have been using it from the very beginning, I'm starting to worry if someone will accuse me of supporting a "terrorist organization" in the future because I have supported and am supporting the Monero community and give regular lectures there (which may sound completely absurd now, but with the current dystopian development of the society, it wouldn't surprise me at all - a month ago, I wouldn't have dreamed that the Incognito project would be shut down and the people from Samourai Wallet would be arrested).
Count the times I used "scared" and "worry" above.
If you use the silly, tired argument of the US authorities that there were specific companies behind Tornado Cash or Samourai Wallet who knew that their open privacy tool was being used by criminals and terrorists, then I would like to point out that other privacy tools like Signal, SimpleX, and others are also used by criminals and terrorists. And there are also commercial companies behind these projects.
In all these cases, however, none of them has ANY CONTROL over who uses the service, and thus, they cannot be held criminally liable for it (even though the US state tries to stitch it up for the poor developers).
And so, by that logic, I don't understand at all that if all the criminals and terrorists are using the US dollar, why they don't prosecute the gentlemen at the FED anyway for providing them with this precious instrument in the first place. Further explanation here.
Just as Signal or the US dollar is primarily used for legal purposes, most privacy-mixing service users are decent citizens who aren't doing anything illegal; they don't wish to be spied on by the state.
Finally, this is NOT about preventing money laundering since the most prominent money launderers use state-issued U.S. dollars and state-sanctified, regulated, and licensed banks.
Conversely, by destroying these privacy services, the state is about absolute financial control over the population (and preparation for a totalitarian CBDC).
If you reflect on the current dystopian direction of the US/EU, you will realize that there is no principal difference between financial totalitarianism in Russia, China, and the EU or the US.
Western governments are actively fighting back and making any kind of financial privacy impossible, just as the Chinese or Russian governments are doing.
Digital totalitarianism is global. It selects blatant victims whose lives it destroys and, thanks to these exemplary cases, continues to spread fear in society. And thanks to this, developers are shutting down great digital privacy projects.
It is perverse to think that only the state's regulations (GDPR, cookie law) have improved privacy in this country.
On the contrary, the state is absolutely the greatest enemy of privacy and uses dangerously totalitarian means to destroy it.
Pavol Lupták, 7.5.2024, Bratislava

Czech Republic and Slovakia

Czech and Slovak passports are more robust than American passports. No wonder - the tax slavery associated with US citizenship is not pleasant, especially when you are still obliged to declare and pay taxes in the US for another 10 years after its abolition. And if you don't, you'll end up like Bitcoin Jesus Roger Ver, whose new citizenship in St Kitts & Nevis and Antigua unfortunately didn't help his case.
As of May 15, 2023, 5,315 U.S. citizens have renounced their citizenship, a significant increase from 2022, when "only" 2,390 renounced their citizenship.
Slovakia's overall 40% tax burden from cryptos is not that bad—unfortunately, there are bigger tax hells out there.

EU

A few years ago, I would have said that this was another totalitarian practice of undemocratic China. Still, the EU has a debate about banning end-to-end encrypted communications. More information is also here. It's truly scary the political power the lobby of a few companies that want to sell their scanning software has. We need to think harder about what will happen when said legislation passes:
  1. The EU will push Google and Apple to dump end-to-end encrypted messengers (Signal, Threema, Telegram, ..) from their application repositories, as I assume all the companies behind these tools will consistently stand behind the privacy of their clients.
  2. Messengers that do not resist EU pressure (I assume WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Discord, etc.) seem to implement the EU backdoor, scanning messages for illegal content.
  3. All those concerned about privacy (including criminals, terrorists, and people who harass children) will download and install Signal, Threema, and Telegram from third parties outside of the Google Play/Apple Store again and continue communicating end-to-end encrypted.
  4. Most ordinary people who don't want to make that effort will be left using backdoored WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and they will become victims of the EU's blanket spying.
  5. There will be at least two serious security problems. Those who download end-to-end encrypted messengers manually outside the official repositories cannot do it properly (verify the digital signature, etc.), so they will fall victim to scammers who will provide them with their backdoored versions of these messengers. The second security problem will be that hackers will use the backdoor of the EU spy agencies, who will also be able to access innocent people's communications thanks to it.
This legislation will significantly degrade the privacy and security of any communication between people in the EU.
If the above legislation is passed in the EU, I will move my Slovak company out of the EU, as I refuse to support this totalitarian system (I can run my IT company in totalitarian China, where I would at least pay lower taxes, unlike in the EU).
Some countries, like El Salvador, offer citizenship to the most innovative and productive people; some kill them with high taxes and regulations and even make it impossible to leave with exit taxes (a particular bailout you must pay to leave the country).
Exit taxes exist in Portugal, Spain, Finland, Norway, Germany, and the US and are currently being proposed for Canada. Leaving your country before they're implemented is a good idea if you plan to avoid them.
The Council of the EU formally adopts a new confiscation directive, which legislates for the confiscation of "unexplained" assets where these assets are linked to organised crime. EU countries will also have the right to confiscate property whose value corresponds to the proceeds of crime, even if this property or ownership is transferred to a third party (if this third party knew it was helping to avoid confiscation).

Ukraine

Ukraine has introduced a nasty totalitarian practice - it has made it ILLEGAL for its male citizens who are abroad to use its consular services. What exactly does this mean? If you as a Ukrainian (with your family) have fled the war from Ukraine, you will not be able to get any of the documents (an apostilled birth certificate, a criminal record, a marriage certificate, or a new passport when your old one expires) that you need to obtain residency or citizenship in any other country in the world. Ukrainian refugees have just become entirely desperate; they will not be allowed to stay in any country in the world longer than their tourist visas allow (usually only 90 days). The moment their Ukrainian passport expires, they will have to hide from the authorities as illegal immigrants because they can't remotely get one (and they are at risk of war and death in Ukraine). It is a real massacre and it is high time to realise that the same thing can happen to you in the future! The country of your citizenship can screw you up badly and will use any means to make you go and die for it. That is why it is necessary:
  1. Secure residency in another country where you can live permanently, regardless of whether your country invalidates your passport and prevents you from getting a new one (unfortunately, we can no longer arrange residency for Ukrainian refugees in Paraguay or Panama).
  2. Secure another citizenship (either by investment or naturalization) because if you remain a citizen of one country, it can quickly happen that your country starts blackmailing you, as Ukraine is doing now. Yes, it is absolutely IMMORAL for the state to force people under threat of violence and disgusting coercion to die for it.
More information on why this is a severe problem.
This recommendation is for all Ukrainian men who have fled the country and can no longer get any documents but still have a valid Ukrainian passport.
A few countries can give you refuge for extended periods - just with a valid passport.
  1. Uruguay (3 years)
    If you have a valid passport to enter the country as a citizen, you can start the immigration process as a permanent resident ("en trámite"), allowing you to live there legally. You will receive your cédula ("en trámite") with your passport, not your birth certificate. This does not work for minors, as they need a birth certificate.
     You can thus live legally in Uruguay for 3 years; if in 3 years you don't have your birth certificate and criminal record, your residency will be suspended.
     As a Ukrainian citizen, you can enter Uruguay on a passport only, and you do not need a visa.
  2. Georgia (365 days)
    Georgia is the only country in the world that allows you to live in the country for 365 days on a tourist visa only. It also allows Ukrainian citizens to do so. Then you need to go to Armenia for a few days, come back, and you can live in Georgia for another 365 days.
  3. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Turkey (180 days)
    You can generally enter these countries as a Ukrainian citizen for 90 days, but you can subsequently extend your tourist visa for up to 180 days.
Of the European countries, Germany is the most friendly to Ukrainian immigrants. Germany seems to be guaranteeing refuge for Ukrainian immigrants until March 2025. Likewise, they can stay in the UK for at least 18 months.

Paraguay

Paraguay is a country of wonders. A new anti-Bitcoin legislation was on the table that was supposed to temporarily ban Bitcoin mining and the sale of cryptocurrencies for 180 days. Of course, the lawmakers did a complete U-turn and threw it off the table a few days later, and Paraguay is once again a beautiful Bitcoin-friendly country.
Paraguay works like any other country - you don't pay VAT (IVA) if you export anything outside Paraguay. It is paid as part of the "Paraguayan-sourced" income. Along with IRP (Impuesto a la Renta Personal), for annual income over 80 million guaraní (about 10k USD) ranging from 8-10% depending on the type of business. Work done outside Paraguay for non-Paraguayan companies is not taxed or declared, including dividends from non-Paraguayan companies and any other profits you have as a Paraguayan tax resident.
I recommend the multi-floor museum of chairs if you want to see something bizarre in Asunción.

Georgia

If you use Georgian banking or pay for services in Georgia, you may appreciate Payunicard.

Armenia

I have experienced first-hand how welcoming Armenian banks are to non-residents and non-citizens of Armenia. Armenia is said to be one of the last reasonable non-CRS countries (it won't start CRS snooping until 2025), where one can still open a non-snooping, non-CRS bank account. I visited almost all Armenian banks a few days ago, but all refused to open an account for me as a non-citizen and non-resident of Armenia. So, the situation is very similar to Slovakia/EU, where most banks without local residency also refused to open a bank account for me (even though Slovak legislation prevents me from using cash above 15000 EUR and pushes me to use a bank account). They required a rental contract in Armenia and/or a work contract in Armenia (some banks up to a minimum of 6 months). It is otherwise bizarre that if you are rich and live on savings (have no work contract) or if you live as a nomad in a hotel for a long time (and thus have no rental contract), you are an untrustworthy client for the bank and they will not open an account for you (not only in Armenia but in most countries in the world:)
Banks (and also government offices) are not prepared for nomadic people at all. They have to classify and map you somewhere, have some specific address of yours, know your tax residency or where you are most of the time (which I have no idea), and know your official income and employer. Total oldschool in 2024.
In that respect, the traditional, border, and regulation-constrained banking system is a hundred years behind the monkeys. Especially when you compare it to crypto, where anyone can set up a Bitcoin/Lightning wallet and instantly send money anywhere in the world without any restrictions.
I firmly believe that in the future, we will not understand that we have ever used a financial system where some central authority controls everything, even the amount of money issued. What an inflationary perversion!

Fortunately, there are bright exceptions - countries like Georgia that don't deal with this - golden Georgian banks that don't care about your residency, employment contract, or official income. The best SOLO account with the highest Visa, Mastercard, and AMEX credit cards will only open on your passport (contact us if you don't already have one). Georgian banks are those interested in your money (nothing else should interest banks, in my opinion). Georgia not only allows anyone in the world to open a bank account there without any connection to Georgia, but it also allows foreigners to live in Georgia for up to 365 days on a tourist visa (!) without the need for any residency. If the banks don't open up like this, stop discriminating against their customers, and stop pestering them with pointless questions, the regulations will execute them.
And already now - people all over the world know about a better alternative financial system.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

I registered with KYC on a Paraguayan driver's license on one of Europe's largest crypto exchanges (based in Ukraine), WhiteBit. No stupid questions like other exchanges, the possibility of SEPA, and withdrawals to Georgian banks. If you want to register, please use my referral code 2aa0030e-e405-474a-9921-33e2a2f3302b.
OrangeFren offers 3DS prepaid Visa cards without KYC.
New book by Juraj Bednar - The Orange Flash of Freedom: Understanding and Using the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Bitcoin mixing services are dead, but a stable version of Haven (based on the P2P exchanges Bisq and Monero) is out!
In this context, it is also worth mentioning the Neveko project, which is a fully encrypted, monero, multi-sig marketplace based on the i2p anonymization technology.

Travel hacks

I have tried CITYZEN Wear T-shirts, on which sweat is not visible, and any liquid runs off. You can also buy discounted sets of 3 and 5 for a better price.

Interesting links

You have no banking secrets. But you've known that for a long time.
Why is the CBDC an imminent, really serious threat?
Europe is a tax hell - where are we going? (I was invited to a famous Spanish podcast).
Robert Chovanculiak has a new book, Progress without Permission: How the sharing economy, crowdfunding, and cryptocurrencies transform our society.
The state has a monopoly on identity, and it's a big problem because people without an identity are excluded from employment, housing, health care, and other areas—an article from a personally affected person.
I have met transhumanist Zoltan Istvan, I recommend his book The Transhumanist Wager.

Events

I have an interesting new philosophical-futuristic lecture about the emergence of a new multi-millionaire caste of bitcoiners worldwide (the so-called Bitcoin aristocracy). These people will be substantially more affluent than most of the nocoin population, who will remain poor victims of state inflationary money. The bitcoiners, heavily represented by libertarians, cryptoanarchists, and Austrian School of Economics fans, will gain enormous social influence and wealth.
Can these free-thinking people stop the future society from heading into dystopia?
Come and listen to this lecture at:
18-19.5 Pizza Day (Parallel Polis / Prague). Buy tickets here.
7-9.6 Monerokon (Parallel Polis / Prague). You can find the program here and buy tickets here.
30.5 Web3Privacy Summit (Parallel Polis / Prague).

13.6 Cypherpunk meetup (Botel Marína / Prague).
13-15.6 BTC Prague (PVA EXPO Prague).
If you have time, 23-30.6.2024, go to the nomadic festival in the Bulgarian town of Bansko. I would love to go there, but I'll be at the Future Festival in Munich.
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