Police can confiscate refugees' valuables. bitcoin not affected...

[pooya87]

These days people keep asking where does bitcoin come in amidst the conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. Here is another case:
In Denmark, there is a law that allows police to forcefully take anything refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, ... have that is worth more than ~$1k to supposedly "funds their stay". It's known as the "jewelry law".
Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

[1714033360]

1714033360

[avikz]

If your context is the current war between Russia and Ukraine, then have a look at the news below,

https://www.thelocal.dk/20220303/danish-government-likely-to-exempt-ukrainians-from-controversial-refugee-jewellery-law/

What you have suggested is definitely helpful for people who don't want to fall prey to such a demonic and inhuman legal provisions. Cryptos can certainly help here!

[fiulpro]

Not just the law but you have to give money to the police on the border so that they let you pass which does mean that you won't be getting any exchange point as well. Exchanging your dollars or uah won't be any option.

But with bitcoins if you have a global card you can instantly withdraw the money in the local currency there and take it out. It honestly works amazing!

I am saying it from experience, at the same time when you consider the fact that you won't have a house, a job anymore, nothing you won't be able to do anything for the time being but you can take some time out of your schedule and apply for the signature campaigns here. Which would still pay you.

Money does not matter, I have uah plenty of them but in Romania you couldn't find any exchange point.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

There is no doubt that it is easier to carry a $1 million worth of BTC, than the same value in gold or fiat currency (especially some worthless ones like the Venezuelan bolivar) for which you would need an Antonov-type transport plane

But I think times are starting to change when it comes to the awareness of people working at border crossings, airports, or the financial police - they are now being educated to look for just such things, words on paper or devices like hardware wallets that look like USB sticks. Of course, anyone can try to remember their backup in their head, or at least cleverly hide it (but not in luggage that gets lost easily). It is always good to remember that Bitcoin (seed&private keys) can be easily and quite imperceptibly transferred, but also lost or stolen in the moment of our carelessness.

[bitmover]

But I think times are starting to change when it comes to the awareness of people working at border crossings, airports, or the financial police - they are now being educated to look for just such things, words on paper or devices like hardware wallets that look like USB sticks. Of course, anyone can try to remember their backup in their head, or at least cleverly hide it (but not in luggage that gets lost easily). It is always good to remember that Bitcoin (seed&private keys) can be easily and quite imperceptibly transferred, but also lost or stolen in the moment of our carelessness.

I think it is so easy to hide those 12 words in such a situation.

For example, you can just have a bunch of piece of papers and spread the seed around a few and just make some drawing and put some other words around it.

Certainly hardware wallets are not a good way to carry your money around, as they are easily recognized. One should only use it in such situations if you can use a double PIN (the hidden wallet in the second one)

Anyway, if I were a refugee I would just mix all money funds and hold them in a paper wallet. I would keep jsut a few hundred dollars in my HW. I would move them back when the situation come back to normal.

[pooya87]

https://www.thelocal.dk/20220303/danish-government-likely-to-exempt-ukrainians-from-controversial-refugee-jewellery-law/

The possibility of exception is just another sign of the hypocrisy and racism that exists among European regimes. We still haven't forgotten hundreds of people including children who froze to death outside their borders during the past couple of years because of their country of origin.

One should only use it in such situations if you can use a double PIN (the hidden wallet in the second one)

One of the reasons why BIP39 has this passphrase option is plausible deniability. That is when you have a seed phrase and can create a wallet from it and then put a tiny amount of bitcoin in that. Then add an extra word (the passphrase or pin or ...) to it to create a new wallet but with the same seed phrase, then put the rest of your funds there.
But it still has the same problem, if it is a physical valuable object it can be confiscated. You don't want anyone to know you even have bitcoin.

[naira]

These days people keep asking where does bitcoin come in amidst the conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. Here is another case:
In Denmark, there is a law that allows police to forcefully take anything refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, ... have that is worth more than ~$1k to supposedly "funds their stay". It's known as the "jewelry law".
Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

Even if you go to any country without carrying a big bag of supplies but on your mobile, you have access to sell bitcoins, that's more than enough to buy hotels, eat in restaurants, go to tourist attractions, and so on. Cashing out bitcoins anywhere is a dream that I want to come true one day. Passed airport checks, escaped local police, and nobody suspected anything. Bitcoin is just an alternative, depending on the owner. Is not it? But an alternative that can cover all our needs wherever we are if a country does allow buying and selling of Bitcoin.

[tranthidung]

Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

It reminds me methods use to hide real words by codes, tattoo, origami, etc. I am a fan of the Prison Break so if someone is wise like Michael Scoffield in that film, police can not do anything.

But it is risky if a stupid guy tries to complicate wallet backup and in the end can not recover it. 

[kaya11]

These days people keep asking where does bitcoin come in amidst the conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. Here is another case:
In Denmark, there is a law that allows police to forcefully take anything refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, ... have that is worth more than ~$1k to supposedly "funds their stay". It's known as the "jewelry law".
Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

That is one brilliant way to avoid those who take advantage of the situation. If I were a refugee, I would use a book to store the code, maybe in different pages and write down the numbers or memorize them. This somehow is hard for elderly, memorizing isn't their thing anymore. Problem is if the police are aware of crypto currencies, so writing down those back up phrases should be done in a discreet way. This war somehow made us aware that this could happen to us anytime, and we can even prepare ourselves ahead if this struct one of us. Making ahead on this matter and discussing things like these is a positivity and weapon to each of us in here, knowing what to do next.

[DU18]

These days people keep asking where does bitcoin come in amidst the conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. Here is another case:
In Denmark, there is a law that allows police to forcefully take anything refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, ... have that is worth more than ~$1k to supposedly "funds their stay". It's known as the "jewelry law".
Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

In urgent conditions like what is happening in ukraine today, of course ukraine citizens need an alternative to store their money in a value store that is safe enough and easy to carry anywhere like bitcoin, even though you are more focused on asylum seekers but i think it's not Unlike what is happening to the Ukrainian people today, many Ukrainians are now forced to cross the borders of other countries just to save their lives, and of course they will leave all their possessions behind .

[Smartvirus]

If your context is the current war between Russia and Ukraine, then have a look at the news below,

https://www.thelocal.dk/20220303/danish-government-likely-to-exempt-ukrainians-from-controversial-refugee-jewellery-law/

What you have suggested is definitely helpful for people who don't want to fall prey to such a demonic and inhuman legal provisions. Cryptos can certainly help here!

In times like this, one begins to understand that world we love in is not so free. Your free will and property could be taken away from you at any point by the government and they've got legal laws to back them all up. You become left with nothing than to live with no one to fight for iou or sell it out to the government that, that which is been done to you at that moment is wrong!
That's the more reason why people need to realise that bitcoin offers more than any currency or asset can offer. Is a total control of your affairs without any one even knowing your worth, not to mention any form of interference. Bitcoin is freedom!

[hatshepsut93]

That's until the authorities turn their eyes on Bitcoin. Border control could spot the most obvious methods of storing  coins, like crypto apps on phone, hardware wallets, unencrypted flash drives, but another problem is what to do with bitcoin once you are in foreign country. Exchanging btc for fiat in a foreign country in a p2p way could be risky for a refugee, who in case of Ukraine are only women and children.

[Upgrade00]

Meanwhile bitcoin doesn't take up any space, it can be 12 words that you memorize or write down in a book spread among pages without anybody knowing what it is and can not be confiscated. All one's net-worth could be carried around like this.

I would not suggest memorizing your seed phrase as an option if you want to recover your wallet address after crossing the border, we can memorize lots of information, but trusting your brain to store your seed phrase and remember it accurately is very risky, especially as your crossing could be delayed for whatever reason and now you have to store it for longer.

In the worst case scenario when it is impossible to pass with any thing related to bitcoin, one could take the risk of sending it through a "secure" platform which they can log in on some other device and quickly sweep the wallet. This also comes with it's fair share of risk.

[AmoreJaz]

That's until the authorities turn their eyes on Bitcoin. Border control could spot the most obvious methods of storing  coins, like crypto apps on phone, hardware wallets, unencrypted flash drives, but another problem is what to do with bitcoin once you are in foreign country. Exchanging btc for fiat in a foreign country in a p2p way could be risky for a refugee, who in case of Ukraine are only women and children.

they will always find a way how to exchange their bitcoin later on. of course, it is not safe to do that at the early stage of your stay as a refugee. but once you get acquainted with your environment, learn the ins and outs in crypto in that country, you will be more confident on how to deal with your crypto. as people are getting aware about bitcoin or crypto in general, don't display the obvious. if you are a crypto user, you have read by now how to secure your crypto assets safely and securely esp if you are going outside faced with undetermined situation. there are even threads here discussing regarding that matter.

as a start, you can read these threads about Bitcoin wallets -which, what, why? and Good topics on security and privacy
it may save your BTC in the future, who knows?

[Henrobakkara]

If your context is the current war between Russia and Ukraine, then have a look at the news below,

https://www.thelocal.dk/20220303/danish-government-likely-to-exempt-ukrainians-from-controversial-refugee-jewellery-law/

What you have suggested is definitely helpful for people who don't want to fall prey to such a demonic and inhuman legal provisions. Cryptos can certainly help here!

What the OP @pooya87 said is very right but I believe that this is an exception for the Ukrainians at the moment because of this quote from the post.

The jewellery law is made for if you leave the nearby region [Danish: nærområde, literally ‘near area’, ed.] where you are safe, and travel through (other) safe countries. But that is not the case for Ukrainians. We are in their nearby region,” Stoklund told Ekstra Bladet.

The problem remains that in times like this (war), not everyone if not already in the crypto space will immediately realize this is the best option for them in every situation moving across the border so we will still see victims of this process.

[TheGreatPython]

Even if you go to any country without carrying a big bag of supplies but on your mobile, you have access to sell bitcoins, that's more than enough to buy hotels, eat in restaurants, go to tourist attractions, and so on. Cashing out bitcoins anywhere is a dream that I want to come true one day. Passed airport checks, escaped local police, and nobody suspected anything. Bitcoin is just an alternative, depending on the owner. Is not it? But an alternative that can cover all our needs wherever we are if a country does allow buying and selling of Bitcoin.

But you just said that you can cash out Bitcoin anywhere around the world, so why then do you say later that your dream is that Bitcoin can be cashed out anywhere around the world?

Well, Bitcoin can be cashed out anywhere around the world, as long as you’re using a peer to peer. Even in countries where Bitcoin is not allowed, people has always continued to buy and sell Bitcoin by making use of decentralized/peer to peer means and they having no issues with it at all. And for countries where it is allowed, you can make use of any of those wallets that offers a MasterCard and Visa, so that you can withdraw from the ATM without stress.

[tabas]

I didn't know that there's a law that's existing in such. But those refugees that are wise would certainly keep their wealth in the form of bitcoin for which they won't be able to be noticed that they've been carrying large amount of money from border to border.
Just like what has been said on how to keep its phrases, there could also be other means of keeping it depending on their creativity but memorizing it won't work for me. 

[stepwilli]

Bitcoin is always good option. It is above everything, and a better choice. The only thing is that you will be afraid of the fact that the value is volatile, but it’s definitely a better choice than most of the other assets that you would find out there. As long as you’re holding your Bitcoin in a noncustodial wallet where you are fully in control of your wallet, then you’re good to go.

In a situation like this, I think it would be good to hide your wallet though, because someone (a law enforcement agent) who knows about cryptocurrency might check your phone to see the wallet, and we don’t know if they can confiscate it too. So the best option is that if you’re crossing the border, you can just save your private keys and uninstall the wallet. You can install later once you have crossed.

[cabron]

Memorizing seed would be the much-preferred way to be safe than writing it on paper. Checkpoints and border patrols are very curious about what you have in your belongings upon crossing. If they find anything of value like a hardware wallet that is something to keep. If it's a piece of paper, they will likely confiscate it and keep it for a while, complaining to get it back will make them more curious as to what's in it.

[Vaskiy]

Memorizing seed would be the much-preferred way to be safe than writing it on paper. Checkpoints and border patrols are very curious about what you have in your belongings upon crossing. If they find anything of value like a hardware wallet that is something to keep. If it's a piece of paper, they will likely confiscate it and keep it for a while, complaining to get it back will make them more curious as to what's in it.

Yes, memorizing the seed is the right way to overcome such situations of forcefully taking the belongings of the refugees. The technology have grown good, but the same can be controlled by them once people enter the new country as refugees. So, using technology platforms to store the seed isn't a good decision.

I've got some simple technique, but this too could get caught. In a Bible or Quran marking letters of the seed could be a possible solution for one who isn't able to memorize the seed.