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Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 2, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Welp. I found my password for a very old btc wallet from 2013. It contains more than I thought. Nothing life changing, but a significant chunk of change.

What do I do with it? I just opened the wallet file with multibit classic. Where should I transfer the balance to secure it better? Hardware wallet or something?

How do I explain this to my country's tax administration?

First: Congrats, it's awesome to hear about someone recovering a cold wallet like this. I still love telling the story of my friend who frittered away 100 BTC from around 2011 before its biggest jump.

Second, how sure are you that you want to report all of this to the tax administration? If the amount was less than six figures, I would try to purchase goods in BTC slowly over the years.

Thanks!

Hypothetically, what goods could I buy with it without running afoul of some KYC or other reporting?

I'm not an expert in this space by any means - I divested of crypto precisely because of the additional controls that landed on "easy" platforms, since someone not watching and taxing my transactions was a major part of the appeal.

I think it would depend a lot on where you live. I'd create a plan with multiple types of goods and the laws around selling your own personal property (imagine my eyes rolling here).

At the end of it, you may find the juice isn't worth the squeeze, and that's a valid answer. There's a reason why the people who are best at tax minimization strategies are generally dealing with 7+ figures. If it's a huge PITA to keep your own money, you may end up just choosing to cede it through taxes. After all, that's what these systems of punishment and enforcement are designed to do....

Right. I'm gonna stay on the straight and narrow.