How to Carry $50 Million through TSA

Nicholas Bevelock
Bitness
Published in
2 min readAug 22, 2018

Anyone would tell you that it is ill-advised to hop on a flight with a suitcase full of cash. That this is a commonly accepted fact is a sad state of affairs. In clear defiance to the fact that the fact that cash makes a poor knife, gun, or high explosive, and especially to the fact our justice system supposedly presumes innocence, there are apparently statutes that allow the government to seize cash. The reason for these statutes: sometimes money launderers do that. Innocent until proven guilty anyone?

Not abusive in the least

Such is life. And we know this, as we know that flying with a bunch of cash in a suitcase is risky for a number of reasons; reasons beyond unjust government seizure. Sometimes, however, you might have to deal with situations that are less than ideal. Such is life. Life happens to people all the time, as this guy, this guy, or this guy will tell you. The fact is, traveling with cash has different attributes that make it preferable to relying on cards alone, but using cash as it was intended now comes with considerable risk.

Cryptocurrencies provide an invaluable solution to this issue, as they function as a true electronic cash; fundamentally different from electronic bank transfers. It may seem simple to point out, but a sum of money, no matter how large, is weightless in a bitcoin wallet. This means with properly secured bitcoin, you could go through a random TSA search, hop on a plane and fly anywhere with $5 billion cash in your possession if you really wanted to. It goes beyond badly behaved agencies — imagine carrying cash that can’t be taken from you when mugged. Even in a nightmare scenario where a government agency is somehow aware you own bitcoin and wants to seize it, if you’re trained in how to properly secure your bitcoin, there is absolutely nothing they can do to separate you from your cash.

As times become increasingly orwellian, readying yourself with knowledge of bitcoin best ownership practices could prove literally invaluable.

Bitness offers education and engineering services for individuals and businesses seeking opportunity in the brave new world of blockchain.

--

--