Why sell your bitcoin when you can earn 6% interest on it (in btc or USD), or take out an interest only loan on it for as little as 1% interest (without selling your bitcoin).

4 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Why do you think gold will increase so much? 

I don't, i was being generous so as not to offend the gold bugs here.

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I'm taking 5% of my Btc profits today and not sure where to put it, certainly not stocks, bonds, or the bank????. 

I wouldn't sell your bitcoin right now. You might regret it.

Gold vs Bitcoin price charts for the last 5 years:

Gold - $1,100 to $1,900 (roughly)

Bitcoin - $377 to 37,000 (current price)

Where will we be 5 years from today? (My guess)

Gold - $15,500 (generous)

Bitcoin - $550,000 (conservative)

I use Blockfi for loans backed by bitcoin as collateral and I have no complaints so far (other than the fact that the interest rates are higher than their competitors).

My brother uses them to earn interest on his bitcoin and he also trusts them and has had no issues.

Have you looked at Celsius?  I'm going to be using Celcius from now on as they have better rates on loans and better rates on most interest bearing accounts too it seems.

My brother also uses Celsius and is doing a side by side comparison as far as the interest earned on 1 bitcoin in each account.

Their Cel token is doing very well too although I don't own any. I wish I did.

4 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

It's one of my biggest regrets, and probably one of my most costly mistake

to not have trusted enough this new thing and bought some bitcoins 10 years ago

then money souldn't be anymore a problem for me

unfortunately (Or fortunately?Who knows..) we can not re-write the story

It's not too late to start stacking sats (Satoshis). There is still a tremendous upside potential over the next few years and decades.

Even a modest 1000 dollar investment now has great potential over the next few years and in 2023 when the next halvening occurs the supply gets cut in half again which results in further reductions in supply while demand is ever increasing. 

Big banks and Institutional money is just starting to pour in now.

It is still very early (even though it seems/feels like it is too late for most normal folks).

Time will tell... but I still think it is still very early on right now. 

Imagine in the future (when it is over 1, 3 or even 5  million dollars) and our children or grand children are looking back at bitcoin when it was still under $50,000 talking about how cheap it was back then and asking why we didn't buy any. 

ps  To all the haters that will chime in and bash it as a scam or a ponzi scheme, please come back for a visit at the end of 2021, 2022 and 2025 (and many years thereafter).  My bet is you'll be a quiet no-show

Yes, coming soon to a province near you.

12 years young today (yesterday in Thailand).. and nearly $35,000 per btc right now. It's party time 5555

On January 3rd 2009 Satoshi Nakamoto mined the #Bitcoin Genesis Block ⛏️

Satoshi left a message in the code of this block: ???????????? ???????????????????? ????????/????????????/???????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ????

Bitcoin is $24,688 and climbing ????

Please, don't forget Eddie Van Halen.

21 hours ago, bangkokgalaxy said:

The remaining question is what happens when people use agents. Does anyone have first-hand experience with FBAR after using an agent?  Are their tax implications?

17 hours ago, DFPhuket said:

In the case of using an agent, if the bank hasn't included a US citizen's social security number to the (temporary) account, I don't see how the IRS could track you as the owner or how it could impact FBAR. I assume the agent doesn't actually transfer 800,000 into the account of a US citizen?

 

It's an interesting question. 

Above board or "real" agents will deposit the 800k in YOUR bank account (not some fictional temporary account) which is in your name and if you are an American citizen then you must have filled out the paperwork to open said account including your SS# (which the bank uses to make the required annual or bi-annual report on said account).

The 800k is deposited in your account (in your name which you had opened), the requested Immigration letter is issued, the agent then takes you to the Immigration office and secures your 12 month extension and then you are taken back to the bank (usually another branch) and the money is withdrawn and returned to the agent.  

Even though this money was in your account for less than a day, it must be reported via FBAR (which is simple) or you may face huge fines and penalties.  There are no "tax implications" as a result of making your FBAR report as long as you correctly file your taxes and claim all of your income as required by the IRS.  The 800k (or 400k) was simply a "loan" that you took out from the agent and paid a hefty fee for.  It was not income and should not be declared as income on your taxes.

"For those whose lack of filing was non-willful (meaning you didn’t know about your reporting obligation), the fine can be $10,000 per violation. If it is determined that you purposely avoided filing, the fine can be $100,000 or 50% of the balance of the account at the time of the violation – whichever is greater. As you can see, penalties can add up quickly if you are years behind in your filing!"

And yes this is legal, it is considered a "VIP" extension since the head of each district IO has the power to use his or her "discretion" and make decisions (or exceptions) as he or she sees fit.  Some agents, for example, are merely retired Immigration Officers (or family members) with all the right connections.

Of course this would not fly in most Western countries, but like it or not, this is just how things are done here (and in many other SE Asian / South American countries).  

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/despite-delay-tourism-ministry-says-travellers-are-coming-this-month

So much for the first flight on the 8th 5555

It won't be long until someone with the virus gets thrown into the Immigration detention center.  That's a scary thought (for those unfortunate enough to be in there right now).  

I guess his truck was a 2WD... (that or he failed to put it in 4WD Low).  Expensive lesson.

Lazada has everything (just about).

Up to 3 months (90 days) early is what I am told here.  I never asked about the grace period.

11 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You will not need 12 months of transfers to do the 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry application and then the extension of stay. It it will be considered as your first extension of stay since you will have a new non immigrant visa entry to start with. Only a few months is required for the first application.

All of your transfers must be 65k baht or more. A average income is not allowed.

Does this also apply to those of us who's Embassies no longer provide the income verification letters?  I was under the impression that without an Embassy letter, it was either 800k in a bank account for 2 months or 12 x 65k monthly transfers to get a new Non-O or an extension to a new Non-O (based on over 50) here in Thailand.

Thanks for your reply Joe