This morning one of my friends messaged me stating he was having problems with his Revolut Crypto App called Revolut X which is like an internal exchange on the banking app Revolut. I am still getting my head around how big a problem he has and whether it is something that is an easy fix or not.
This friend of mine has been copying what I am doing to a certain degree and has invested in COTI. The small difference unlike myself who purchased the COTI on an exchange and staked it directly with COTI on the treasury he has held his on the Revolut X App. He thought this was a smart move and an easy process and just kept buying more and more crypto.
Earlier this week he received a message asking for his tax certificate for the UK which is why he is moving his crypto before it becomes a problem. He lied when registering with Revolut the banking app and has never lived in the UK and resides in South Africa. Last night he tried to transfer crypto from his Revolut App to his Metamask wallet which was denied as it did not recognize Metamask calling it a scam. The moving of funds and the block by Revolut may actually be just a security process one must follow. I have never used this Revolut X App so I have no idea and maybe someone on here knows this answer.
He has recently bought a Trezor and noticed that eh could transfer directly from Metamask to his Trezor wallet and why he selected this route. I advised him not to raise so many flags as I know he has very little patience and will do bigger movements of crypto which could raise flags.
He lives in South Africa and his Revolut wallet is registered in the UK so at this point he is screwed as he will not have a UK tax number and the form they send out each year stating you are tax compliant. I forget the name of that form, but I know it exists as I receive one each year. I understand the worry of having to move the crypto as quickly as possible before he has to supply proof of a tax certificate.
Revolut is now registered and a legal banking app in South Africa now which has happened very recently. I am just going by what he has told me as I have not checked if that is truly the case and if it is already live.
I asked him certain questions a few hours ago which has helped me understand his position more clearly. The crypto portfolio he has on Revolut X is roughly $25K which was funded via SA using Rands. This was funded in small amounts before he lost patience and started doing $5K deposits which would raise flags somewhere. People do not understand that there are certain actions you just cannot do and magically having a $25K crypto portfolio funded by FIAT from another currency from where you say you have residence is asking for trouble.
He is going to do a test run moving small amounts of COTI to Binance first before he starts moving whatever other crypto he has in his portfolio. If that does not work and is also blocked I have told him to sell his entire portfolio within the Revolut X app and deposit that into his Revolut wallet. At this point he is then clear and can purchase crypto elsewhere and deposit onto his Trezor.
The selling his portfolio will have a cost as he mentioned that Revolut X charges $39 per $1000 so selling $25K will cost him $1K and is a lesson learned. I do think he is moving out of this app before it could be a regulation problem and just a little thankful I have never used this yet.
I do think we have to be careful what type of crypto footprint we leave online as things will start to become more regulated making things a little more challenging. If we keep things simple by using our cold wallets and have a clear strategy as on offramp then we need to be crystal clear this method will work. I have my strategy set out and still need to complete one part of this which i will do soon enough. I was in Dubai a few months ago and this is still the best crypto off ramp I have found and I have been researching strategies for a good 12 months already.