(1/8) While in Hong Kong, I was primarily acquiring sats via in-person cash exchanges which I set up over p2p marketplaces like @paxful, amongst others.

Here's a quick opsec manual for those looking to do the same :

(2/8) First and foremost, get a burner SIM card and (if possible), a burner phone. I had an old Android phone I used for this and picked up a burner SIM for about $50 HKD that lasted me for my entire stay.

(3/8) If you're going to use @paxful or any similar p2p service to set up the in person meets, try to register with a new email address using @ProtonMail and if you can't, just make sure you don't sign up with an email you've used with centralized exchanges like @coinbase.

(4/8) Bonus points if make sure you complete verification processes on the p2p service using your new burner email + phone number.

(5/8) The benefit of using services like @paxful is that you don't *have* to submit ID/passport documents. You can just use the site to find people willing to exchange cash for Bitcoin or vice versa in person and use your email+phone number for account verification.

(6/8) Now, onto the actual meet and exchange. Don't wear expensive clothing or accessories. Don't take any more money than you need for the journey to and back, as well as what you need to make the swap.

(7/8) Don't take your entire physical wallet with you and only keep your burner phone on you with a fresh bitcoin wallet install each time. Try to meet in daylight in a crowded place.

That's pretty much it. This might seem overkill but it's really just being careful.

(8/8) You *could* also ignore all the above and you'd probably be ok anyway. Once again, this is just for those that want to be extra careful.

I'm no opsec expert either. This just happened to be my routine. It was also kind of fun.

*END THREAD*