#1575 Alessandro Palombo | How to Buy EU Citizenship with Bitcoin
🎯 Summary
Podcast Episode Summary: #1575 Alessandro Palumbo | How to Buy EU Citizenship with Bitcoin
This episode of the Pomp Podcast features Anthony Pompliano interviewing Alessandro Palumbo, Co-founder and CEO of Bitcoin Citizenship, focusing on innovative ways for Bitcoin holders to acquire European Union citizenship through investment vehicles aligned with cryptocurrency exposure.
1. Focus Area
The primary focus is the intersection of Sovereignty/Geopolitical Optionality and Cryptocurrency (specifically Bitcoin), detailing how investment-based citizenship programs (Golden Visas) are being adapted to cater specifically to the Bitcoin community. The discussion centers on the mechanics, legal frameworks, and strategic advantages of obtaining EU citizenship while maintaining Bitcoin exposure.
2. Key Technical Insights
- Bitcoin-Aligned Investment Structure (Portugal): The Portuguese program is facilitated via a close-ended fund structured around a Portuguese company that acquires exposure to Bitcoin. This allows investors to meet the €500,000 investment threshold required for the Golden Visa while satisfying their desire for Bitcoin alignment, rather than traditional real estate.
- In-Kind Redemption in Italy: The upcoming Italian program offers a significant technical advantage: the ability for investors to contribute in-kind (Bitcoin) to the investment startup and, crucially, redeem in-kind (Bitcoin) after the required holding period, bypassing fiat conversion friction common in other programs.
- Administrative Complexity vs. General Law: Palumbo highlights that the primary hurdle isn’t interpreting the general law, but navigating the administrative and regulatory details of how these laws are applied by often inefficient government authorities when dealing with novel assets like Bitcoin.
3. Market/Investment Angle
- Plan B Optionality: The core driver for clients (successful entrepreneurs and families globally) is securing a “Plan B”—access to 27 EU countries for settlement, healthcare, and education, hedging against future global uncertainty.
- Portugal vs. Italy Investment Tiers: Portugal remains the preferred option for those seeking citizenship without relocation (requiring a 5-year holding period). Italy offers a lower entry point (€250,000) but mandates physical residency (at least six months per year) for 10 years to qualify for citizenship.
- Evolving CBI/RBI Landscape: The discussion underscores the dynamic nature of these programs, evidenced by Portugal removing real estate investment options due to concerns over housing market inflation, forcing innovation toward financial assets like Bitcoin funds.
4. Notable Companies/People
- Alessandro Palumbo: Co-founder/CEO of Bitcoin Citizenship, bringing a background in administrative law (PhD) and experience advising governments on blockchain adoption, alongside his wife’s prior success in Portuguese Golden Visa funds (real estate).
- Bitcoin Citizenship: The company pioneering the creation of these Bitcoin-aligned investment vehicles for citizenship acquisition.
- Portugal & Italy: The two key jurisdictions discussed, representing the non-relocation (Portugal) and relocation-required (Italy) paths to EU citizenship.
5. Regulatory/Policy Discussion
- Political Sensitivity of Borders: Palumbo frames the pursuit of multiple citizenships as a modern necessity in a global digital economy, suggesting that physical borders are becoming obstacles to freedom and potential, a concept that is politically sensitive but technologically inevitable.
- Government Incentives: Countries offer these programs primarily to attract capital and skills that their local economies might otherwise lack, even if their administrative systems are inefficient.
- Real Estate Removal in Portugal: The removal of real estate investment was a direct political response to concerns about pricing out local Portuguese citizens due to soaring property values, despite the relatively small number of Golden Visa investors impacting the overall market.
6. Future Implications
The conversation suggests a future where stacking passports becomes as crucial for high-net-worth individuals as stacking Bitcoin. Bitcoin Citizenship aims to expand this optionality globally, though current regulatory frameworks outside of Europe make replication difficult. The industry is moving toward integrating digital assets directly into traditional sovereignty mechanisms.
7. Target Audience
This episode is highly valuable for High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), entrepreneurs, and established Bitcoiners interested in geopolitical risk mitigation, wealth preservation, and maximizing personal freedom through jurisdictional arbitrage. It is also relevant for professionals in the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) and Residency by Investment (RBI) sectors looking at crypto integration.
🏢 Companies Mentioned
💬 Key Insights
"If I have Bitcoin, I bought at a low price and it's appreciated a lot. If I donate it, I don't pay taxes on it. And so it's a way to give away capital gains and get something in return."
"We are going to launch also a 200,000 euro donation for Portugal in Bitcoin. So you can donate in Bitcoin. And we are going to be the first ones offering 200 instead of 250."
"this entire world of second citizenship is hyper volatile, potentially more than Bitcoin, which means today you may obtain in Portugal with these terms, tomorrow maybe not."
"Bitwise is the first and only Bitcoin ETF provider to openly publish its Bitcoin wallet addresses, allowing anyone to verify the fund's holdings."
"Core is a protocol secured by elected validators. You can help elect validators and secure the network by simply locking up your Bitcoin on the Bitcoin blockchain. No bridging, no lending, just holding."
"The biggest challenge is regulatory and administrative actually planning from governments. Why? Because ultimately, all these legislations, even now, they are not built for Bitcoiners or for tech."