You Don't Have to Sell Your Bitcoin to Spend It
Here's a tax fact worth sitting with: in most places, selling appreciated Bitcoin triggers capital gains, but borrowing against it doesn't. Loan proceeds aren't income (you pay them back), so pledging your BTC as collateral generally isn't a taxable event. It's the same as borrowing against a house that went up in value instead of selling it.
The practical difference is bigger than it sounds. To raise $10k by selling, you have to sell more than $10k, because part of it goes to tax, and now your stack is permanently smaller and you've reset your holding-period clock. Borrow instead and you keep the coins, the upside, and the clock.
How it works without a lender: deposit Bitcoin (as RBTC on Rootstock) into a vault only you control, mint BPD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, against it at 0% interest (one-time fee, no annual rate), spend the dollars, repay whenever, reclaim every coin. No company in the middle holding your Bitcoin.
One honest caveat: a forced liquidation is a sale, so keep your collateral ratio well above the 110% minimum and don't overborrow. And this isn't tax advice, rules vary, ask a professional.
But the core idea stands: needing cash and keeping your Bitcoin were never actually opposites. Borrow against Bitcoin at 0% interest.
