Finance & Crypto Insights

More and more entrepreneurs turn to offshore companies for a wide variety of benefits. To lots of business people, this is all about reducing tax and diversifying assets. To others, it is about minimizing the overall hassle. If you are "lucky" enough to live in a country with lots of bureaucracy, you know how daunting it is to meet all the requirements. You need lots of paperwork, and each paper requires weeks of waiting. You end up spending hours in queues, only to be told to bring more papers. Certain countries, on the other hand, provide extra benefits by canceling all the paperwork and easing the actual investment. Take Estonia, for instance. It is one of the most appreciated locations for offshore entrepreneurs and for some...

A brief search over the Internet will expose you to different points of view. In terms of taxation, you will discover different concepts and ideas. The fact that taxation is theft is often among them – an idea that is constantly brought up as often as possible. Sometimes, it comes with a question mark. Other times, it comes with an exclamation mark. One thing is for sure, though – this concept draws more and more attention, especially in a world where you can travel, move and do business abroad in order to reduce tax. So, is taxation theft? From some points of view, it is. From other points of view, it is not. At the same time, it also depends on what type of society you live in. It is definitely theft in a corrupt third-world...

Gold has an impressive history, as well as a high value that has never gone down. It is part of the culture, and despite being popular today, it is not just a trend. Gold has always been an important asset, whether you count ancient Chinese, Greeks, or Egyptians. These days, gold is appreciated for its beauty in jewelry, but also for its value – one of the most useful investments out there. There are more reasons wherefore people buy it – one of the most sought-after metals, no doubt. But then, learning how to buy gold could be a bit tricky. The price of gold keeps fluctuating – just like any other asset out there. It is used for jewelry, investment guarantees, and even the manufacturing industry. The past century saw an even greater...

The unrealized capital gains tax has been widely discussed lately, especially after it was mentioned among new potential laws in the USA. Most people are not aware of it and the truth is they are less likely to be affected anyway. Who does it affect then? This type of tax is most likely aimed at the rich – billionaires or those with high-value assets. You do not need to be a billionaire to be affected. Instead, you might as well own a few properties or perhaps some collectibles. To the average individual, this tax means nothing, yet there are people out there who are happy to see the rich paying more taxes. To the rich individual, this tax may seem a little abusive. Will it go through? Only time can tell. But before getting there, it...

More and more people turn to the digital nomad lifestyle and for some obvious reasons. Technology has seriously advanced lately, and work can be conducted from any place, anytime. If you have to work from home, you might as well do it from a nice and exotic country. Technologies have advanced, and so did communication and the overall attitude. Throw in the recent coronavirus pandemic, too, and people have already had a taste of what it feels like to work remotely. It can be done, so many companies will implement such concepts in the future. Technology is definitely the main reason wherefore so many people turn to this lifestyle. What do you need, after all? An Internet connection, which you could get anywhere. Perhaps a camera too...

Second passports, citizenship requirements and investments – such things may seem complicated for a newbie. To the average individual, a citizenship is about naturalization. You work in the host country for a particular amount of years, get used to the local system, learn about its culture, and eventually take a test and pay a fee – done. But then, there is an easier and quicker way to do it – the citizenship for investment. In theory, it may sound a bit fishy. You basically have to pay to get your citizenship. It does not seem too fair, but who cares? The truth is you are not buying the actual citizenship, unless you choose to make a donation. You can also invest the money, meaning you have a good return on investment. It is all...

The golden visa is no longer a rare occasion to be allowed entry into a country. Instead, golden visa programs have become extremely popular lately and they are widely implemented by countries from all over the world. The concept has gained more notoriety in Europe though, yet you can find similar programs all over the world – even if they are advertised under different names. To keep it simple, such a program will provide a temporary residence permit. Requirements and laws vary from one country to another. For instance, you could get a permit for a few years or perhaps one that will cover you until you can apply for citizenship. If there is one thing these programs have in common, that is the way to get the visa – a solid investment...

Obtaining residence permits comes with all kinds of pluses and minuses. Then, there are so many myths that you barely know what to believe. There is always someone out there who claims to know everything. Now, no matter where you are trying to settle, there are usually two options to choose from – doing everything yourself or hiring a professional. To keep everything crystal clear, you do not have to be a citizen to live in the respective country. You could get a temporary residence permit, but you might as well obtain a permanent residence permit. Doing everything yourself is not impossible. You need to research everything and deal with lots of paperwork, but it is doable. A service will get the job done faster, but for a price...

Moving to a new place may seem easy at times, but there are certain countries that will bring in a bunch of challenges. Now, different people have different reasons to move abroad. These reasons do count as well, but overall, choosing the location carefully is the more important factor. Now, why would you choose a different country? Maybe you are thinking of retiring. You have a home you want to sell, buy a different one in a different country and live off your pension or investments. Maybe you want to invest in a nice country with a stable economy and low taxes. How about getting ready for further investments or retirement? No matter what your reasons are, immigration consulting is often the main necessity. Think about it for a...

Wise was originally launched in 2011. It had a different name back then, but it got rebranded in 2022. The purpose of this service? Making international payments a breeze. Basically, the goal was to make transfers almost instant – compared to banks, which normally take a few days. Another goal was to make transfers cheap – compared to banks, which take a good chunk of the money. Most importantly, Wise tried to make everything simple. Accounts can be opened in different currencies and exchange rates are fair. Simply put, there is no need to waste a fortune on middlemen getting the job done for you. After all, this is what traditional banks are about – they are intermediary users that facilitate transfers for a price. Now, some may know...

Everything You Should Know About Getting an Offshore Bank Account Across the World There are so many misconceptions about having an offshore bank account that you barely know what to believe. If you are new to this industry, chances are you associate offshore activities with the numerous scandals involving celebrities over the past years. Some may see offshore accounts for savvy businesses, while others find them more suitable for shady accountants. The truth is you do not have to be a millionaire to open an offshore bank account. You do not need to run a particular business or operate in a specific field. A bit of research, finding the right bank and the right documents can give you access to private banking in another country within...

As you deal with Bitcoin and make one transaction after another, there is a point when you realize that anonymity is not always there. You have done your homework and you have assessed the benefits of digital coins – cryptocurrencies are meant to be anonymous. Indeed, they will not necessarily link to your actual identity. But then, there are other small details that can reveal your actual identity. The address of your Bitcoin, for example, is public. Your history of transactions can also be discovered. If you are not careful, they can be put together and may reveal your real life identity. Discovering who you truly are is not of great interest, unless you deal with high amounts of money. Most people would try to conduct transactions...

In 2008, Latvia was hit by a deep recession worse than other countries in the European Union. Proportionally, since it was not among Europe’s most developed countries, it was not that bad. Over the next five years, Latvia's GDP grew by about 5% on a yearly basis. In no time, Latvia became one of the fastest-growing economies within the union. The trend has not changed though. While the country was hit by a few other issues – such as the closure of its largest company in the metal field, its growth surprised analysts. For the seasoned offshore entrepreneur, the secret is pretty obvious. Latvia has figured out what truly works when it comes to growing, attracting international investments and getting people to spend their money there...

If there is one constant in the vast, ongoing, cryptocurrency exchange war, it’s this fact: Kraken is a big dog. Despite fierce competition from feature-rich Coinbase and Binance, Kraken remains a force to be reckoned with due to its large crypto asset catalog, numerous other attractive features, and global reach. For these reasons and more, Kraken remains a top-rated, overall trader choice winner for cryptocurrency trading, along with Coinbase and Binance. Whether you want to invest in the crypto long term, trade crypto assets in the shorter term, or you just want to make a cost-effective cross-border transfer, Kraken is the exchange to rock out to. Cryptocurrency exchanges used to be largely defined by the coin listed. Nowadays...

Nearly six years after it was launched, Coinbase commerce – the merchant app from Coinbase – is running at full stream these days, hitting milestone after milestone, and seeing an uptick in volume since the 2018 launch. People really seem to be buying products and services on the web in crypto, and most of these transactions are happening on the Coinbase ecosystem. Coinbase has been expanding at a pace like never seen before. The exchange has grabbed the attention of investors, who pay a bit more for added transparency, security, and above everything else, safety. Coinbase is considered a safe bet across the cryptosphere. As the market continues to provide healthy alternatives to fiat currencies, Coinbase commerce was launched to make...

EMIs – Electronic Money Institutions – are naturally part of the game when you deal with offshore applications, online work or you simply want to diversify your portfolio a little. There already are a few handy guides regarding the most trustworthy EMIs on the OffshoreCorpTalk forum. If you missed them, here are a few details about what to expect before actually digging into deeper details. A brief introduction regarding EMIs will put you on track and allow you to understand how it works – most people already know that. The point of this article is to identify the potential maximum limits you can have in transactions. To keep it simple, imagine the necessity to transfer $25,000 or maybe $50,000 in one go. Could you do that with an...