obtaining US residency and crypto without SoF

[pftz]

Hi everyone,

I’m considering moving to the US in the future, though I don’t currently have resident status there. I have savings in Bitcoin, for which there are no acquisition documents. These funds were accumulated through transfers from various exchanges back when KYC wasn’t required. The accounts on those exchanges have long been lost, and I don’t see the point or have the desire to recover them. After obtaining resident status, I plan to use this crypto at some point and want to stay fully compliant with the IRS. I'm going to declare it from the start, but the issue is the lack of documentation regarding the origin of the crypto.

From the information I’ve gathered so far, when declaring, I’ll only need to report the amount of crypto realized and the resulting profit. The cost basis would be considered the Bitcoin price on the day I obtain resident status.

It seems to me that the IRS won’t be interested in where I got the Bitcoin or the price I paid for it. Instead, they might only be concerned with the fact of ownership on the day I become a resident.

To confirm ownership, I plan to take the following steps before obtaining residency:

1. Consolidate the cryptocurrency into a small number of wallets to make it easier to manage (in the next points).
2. Create an account on a KYC-compliant exchange (e.g., Coinbase) and transfer a small amount of Bitcoin to link the wallet with this account.
3. Make an OP_RETURN transaction with some information to semi-anonymously tag the wallet as mine — for example, “ownership confirmation, 5533,” where 5533 is a number from some official document or a number of a KYC-linked account. I understand this action shouldn’t compromise my anonymity.
4. Notarize a statement declaring that I am the owner of the address bc1pani....akwozf, while partially obscuring the address to protect my anonymity.

This way, if needed, I can prove that I already owned this crypto before acquiring resident status, not someone else.

What are your thoughts? Would this approach work? What are the risks?

 

[daniels27]

What are your thoughts? Would this approach work? What are the risks?

They can empty your wallet once there is quantum computing available as you have disclosed your public key. Maybe better ensure you transfer all to one one-time use wallet. You can then use the private key to sign a message stating that you are the owner. You then print out the message and the signature and go to the city hall / notary and get a certified copy for $10, which bears the date. It should be pretty evident from my understanding.

 

[rss]

Your plan will fail as soon as you hit the second step, they WILL freeze your money and ask for a source-of-crypto.

If you can't provide:

- Bank deposit slips showing deposits to other exchanges
- Purchase logs, trading history, withdrawal history at other exchanges
- Any other documents that show the origins of your crypto

Forget about trying to play this game.
You can easily find a solution to your problem by grabbing a Mentor Group Gold membership, I heard there's a crypto monster lurking in there who can help you.

 

[pftz]

Your plan will fail as soon as you hit the second step, they WILL freeze your money and ask for a source-of-crypto.

If you can't provide:

Forget about trying to play this game.
You can easily find a solution to your problem by grabbing a Mentor Group Gold membership, I heard there's a crypto monster lurking in there who can help you.

I plan to transfer a small amount to the exchange, say the equivalent of $50. Even if the exchange blocks the account in this situation, I’ll try again with another exchange.

I understand there are many ways to "legitimize" these funds. However, from my current understanding, this isn’t necessary - when you obtain residency, you essentially start with a clean slate.

 

[rss]

Exchanges don't care if you obtained your US residency or not.
If in 10 years you still don't have any SoF for your crypto, you are not going to be able to convert that crypto to fiat, simple as that.

Your plan isn't going to provide any legitimacy on how you obtained your crypto assets.

 

[daniels27]

Exchanges don't care if you obtained your US residency or not.
If in 10 years you still don't have any SoF for your crypto, you are not going to be able to convert that crypto to fiat, simple as that.

Your plan isn't going to provide any legitimacy on how you obtained your crypto assets.

He needs to cash out with @nurredon and @JohnnyDoe.

 

[providenceventurer]

He needs to cash out with @nurredon and @JohnnyDoe.

If you need help let know as well.

 

[pftz]

They can empty your wallet once there is quantum computing available as you have disclosed your public key. Maybe better ensure you transfer all to one one-time use wallet. You can then use the private key to sign a message stating that you are the owner. You then print out the message and the signature and go to the city hall / notary and get a certified copy for $10, which bears the date. It should be pretty evident from my understanding.

There is still plenty of time before quantum computers can break it.
Great idea with the digital signature, thank you for the suggestion!