As I always say you should "only hold in fiat what you are willing to lose", I am not only referring to the loss of value of fiat currencies but also to other events: forced withdrawals from customer accounts by banks but also blocking of withdrawals.
Here are some examples of confiscatory withdrawal from private accounts:
-Italy (1992): the Italian government led by Giuliano Amato imposed a forced withdrawal of 0.60% on all bank deposits to repay the public debt and address the economic crisis.
-Argentina (2001): faced with a severe economic crisis, the government introduced the "corralito", freezing current accounts for 1 year and limiting withdrawals, to prevent a capital flight that could have further destabilized the economy.
-Cyprus (2013): During a severe banking crisis, the government, in agreement with the European Union, imposed a tax on bank accounts over 100,000€, with rates of up to 40%, to prevent the collapse of the financial system.
-In 2013, the International Monetary Fund proposed a mandatory 10% tax on bank deposits in 15 eurozone member countries to reduce public debt, suggesting that this measure was preferable to tax increases or inflation.
FREEZING FUNDS
In the past, there have been events that have led governments to limit or block citizens' access to their funds for various reasons. The reasons should be capital control, economic stabilization and maintaining public order. Remember that if you have money in the bank it is NOT yours and that the system on which traditional finance is based is a giant Ponzi scheme. Emergency situations are limited by printing money, raising taxes and forced withdrawals. Let's look at some emblematic cases of freezing funds:
-Iceland (2008): During a global financial crisis (including banks), Iceland restricted access to customer funds in the country's major banks. Account holders at Landsbanki attempted to withdraw their funds en masse, causing a bank run and a liquidity crisis.
-Venezuelan crisis (2016): The Venezuelan government imposed limits on bank withdrawals, allowing only one withdrawal per day, with amounts ranging from 10 to 100 bolivars. This measure was taken to address liquidity shortages and inflation.
-Turkey seizure (2016): In a seizure of power, the government blocked bank accounts, access to social networks and communication platforms to control the spread of information and maintain public order.
-Russia during the war in Ukraine (2022): In response to international sanctions, the Russian government has imposed restrictions on bank withdrawals and money transfers abroad.
How can you protect yourself?
1) Keep some of your funds abroad (declaring your income). Even though privacy is no longer a thing, it is much more difficult for your state to seize funds from a foreign bank. It's a diversification in case your country goes into crisis.
2) Invest in $BTC (only non-censorable asset) and stablecoins (USDC and USDT are centralized and can be censored by Circle and Tether. They are obviously subject to regulation, but are difficult to attack for your country. On-chain, it's impossible to "censure" based on nationality).
3) Hold physical gold (in the US, gold ownership was made illegal for citizens from the 1930s to the 1970s. Something similar also happened in the UK and Australia. However, it would be more difficult to implement today, although not impossible).
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