@OldBastard 5 March 2022

MetaMask Surely Sucks. Are Software Wallets Subject to Censorship Too? Is a Roth IRA The Best Solution For Americans? Due to my paranoia and laziness, (mostly laziness, to be honest), I have never bothered to set up a MetaMask account. I know that in the crypto world it is said that being decentralized is preferable to being centralized, so my approach to decentralization has been to store some crypto in various software wallets. (This crypto now belongs to my mother-in-law, should any of y'all reading this be employees of greedy tax agencies.) If you have been using MetaMask, you should probably watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LLjSMpgmk&t=192s . Yes, with just the flip of a switch, users of MetaMask can be locked out of their wallets should they happen to reside in a "bad country". (For a definition of what a "bad country" is, read George Orwell's book 1984.) Yikes! But even worse, the speaker on the video raises "centralization" concerns with wallets I help my mother-in-law use, such as Atomic, Exodus, and Trust Wallet. I'd say "Double Yikes" here, but fortunately, (for us, at least), she doesn't present any evidence for her concerns that these software wallets are subject to centralized censorship. Of course we are told to use hardware wallets as the best way to keep our crypto off centralized platforms, but the hassle of a hardware wallet seems excessive for the amount of crypto she owns. Besides, maybe I am giving in to the dark side, but with my largest personal crypto investment I am taking the opposite approach. If you're an American citizen like me, you surely realize that the stupid Federal Government is attempting to tax nearly everything related to cryptocurrency. If they could, they would probably tax even just thinking about crypto! So what is a citizen of the "Land of the Free" to do to avoid these onerous tax obligations, besides flying under the radar? (Not recommended, by the way!) There is something called a Roth IRA in the USA. Money put into a Roth IRA is tax free FOREVER! (Subject to change at a future date, of course. NEVER blindly trust a government!) So it would be hugely beneficial for an American such as me to have my crypto sitting in a Roth IRA. So that is what I have done. I signed up for a self-directed Roth IRA, and have begun the process of funding it. This is where the majority of my crypto now resides. Yes, it is extremely centralized, but it is legal, stored on a fairly decent exchange, (Gemini), subject to the rules and regulations of the rapacious minds at the IRA, (some of these rules and regulations actually protect me!), and thus I would contend almost as secure as crypto stored on a hardwallet locked in a safe in a remote, secure location. I am just starting my journey into keeping crypto in a Roth IRA, so I don't know how this will actually work out for me. I'll keep y'all informed as I learn more through my experiences. In the meantime, if you must use MetaMask, you should probably watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SonqKIlqt0&t=0s .