‘Bitcoin Family’ opens a bitcoin beach bar in Lagos, Portugal
Sister Taihuttu
The “bitcoin family” is down more than $1 million on its bitcoin investments since the world’s most popular digital coin peaked at nearly $69,000 in November 2021 – but patriarch Didi Taihuttu is as bullish as ever.
“I am buying bitcoins daily,” Taihuttu told CNBC over the phone from a beach in Lagos, Portugal. “For me, the lesson I have learned over the past two cycles is – I am slowly zooming out when the whole world is panicking and everyone is thinking bitcoin is going to crash, and I’m going to take bitcoin. I’m buying.”
In 2017, Taihuttu, his wife and three daughters liquidated all their ownership of the 2,500-square-foot home, trading all their worldly possessions for bitcoin and life on the street. This was back when the price of bitcoin was around $900. Bitcoin is currently trading near $19,200.
Along the way, Taihutu exited his bitcoin position and later bought back, trading his coins at an opportune time.
“That’s bitcoin life,” he said.
Taihutu told CNBC that he sold about 15% of the family’s total bitcoin holdings when the price dropped to $55,000 in late November.
“The $55,000 for me was a confirmation that we would be short,” Taihuttu continued.
Romain and Jolie Taihuttu on a beach in Lagos, Portugal
Sister Taihuttu
Extreme volatility is the price of trading in the digital asset market. Over the past decade, bitcoin has experienced two long periods of depressed prices before rallying. In the last crypto winter of 2018, bitcoin lost more than 80% of its value and then rebounded, eventually reaching its all-time highs last year.
Matt Hogan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, said in an interview, “There is still one aspect to crypto that we are waiting to see if another shoe will fall, if another institution will fail, if The credit cascade will continue.” ,
“If your time frame is a week, or a month or a quarter, I think there is still significant volatility. If you have a time horizon measured in years, then yes, it is worth thinking about entering the market. It’s a wonderful opportunity.” Hogan continued.
Taihuttu – One who studies crypto market price charts and follows popular indicators such as mayor multiple – thinks in the current price cycle, bitcoin will be down somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000, before jumping above $140,000 by 2025. And right now, according to Taihuttu, is “the last buying moment.”
Their investment strategy has worked out very well so far. Taihuttu told CNBC that his portfolio has grown by more than 2,000% over the past six years.
“Gradually, people will understand that being in bitcoin and hodling is always more profitable than trying to hold on to an altcoin that will grow thousands of times,” Taihuttu said.
The 70/30 Rule of Taihutu
Over the past six years, the Dutch family of five has traveled the world. But after spending time in 40 countries, he decided to make some roots in Portugal – one of the last places in Europe with a 0% tax. Bitcoin,
Taihuttu’s latest project is running a bitcoin bar on one of the most popular beaches in Lagos, to “lead by example”. He also plans to spread the gospel of bitcoin by converting all vendors along that stretch of sand into electricity-friendly retailers. Lightning is a payment platform built on top of the base layer of bitcoin that enables virtually instantaneous and low-fee transactions.
“I think it will take me about six months, and I have this whole beach to accept bitcoin,” he said.
The faith of the family has been tested in the last one year. It’s been a few months for the crypto market, as token prices have plummeted and some of the most popular companies in the industry. go belly up,
The chaos has stunned investors, eroding more than $2 trillion in value in a matter of months – and eroding the life savings of retail traders who bet big on crypto projects billed as safe investments. On Thursday, Bitcoin posted its Worst quarterly loss in over a decade,
The first customers to pay in bitcoin at a beach bar in Taihutas in Lagos, Portugal
Sister Taihuttu
In order to stay “emotionally grounded” when faced with this level of volatility, the Dutch family of five follows the 70/30 rule.
At any given time, Taihuttus keeps 70% of its bitcoin holdings in cold storage (which is inaccessible without physically retrieving it), and the other 30% in a hot wallet, meaning the coins are connected to the Internet, whether through a mobile phone wallet or an online exchange.
Some of the 30% crypto stash is held in bitcoin, and the rest in a mix of US dollar-pegged stablecoins, including tie rope, USDC, and midwife. This type of “hot” storage allows owners relatively easy access to their tokens so that they can access and spend their crypto. The trade-off for convenience is potential exposure to bad actors.
“Every time our capital goes up, I make sure 70% is on cold storage so I don’t touch it from there,” Taihuttu explained.
Taihuttu has gone out of its way to make your cold wallet especially hard to access.
Most of the family’s crypto fortune is in secret vaults on four different continents, including two hiding places in Europe, two others in Asia, one in South America, and a sixth in Australia. None of the sites are underground or on a remote island, but the family told CNBC that crypto stash is hidden in different ways and in different places, from rental apartments and friends’ homes to self-storage sites. .
Teddy, the dog from Taihutas, with Jessa and Romaine on a beach in Lagos, Portugal
Sister Taihuttu
Taihuttas hide seed phrases (that is, a unique set of 12 to 24 words used to access digital assets) on the same continent as their respective hardware wallets, but in different countries. The seed phrases for the private key used to access the crypto wallet differ – but it is important that users keep a record of both.
“Cold storage often refers to crypto that has been moved to a wallet whose private key – the password that enables crypto to be taken out of the wallet – is not stored on computers connected to the Internet, so that hackers cannot hack into the computer.” and steal private keys,” said Philip Gradwell, chief economist at Chainalysis, a blockchain data firm.
Beyond basic cyber hygiene and protecting its tokens against bad actors, Taihuttu has also gone out of its way to protect its assets from itself.
“I think if I had those hardware wallets, I would probably be more emotionally involved, and maybe when I saw bitcoin drop, I would grab the hardware wallet and start selling or buying,” he said. Told.
That said, the Dutch father of five says he is never too far from his ledger or seed phrases.
“I can always fly cheap with Ryanair or AirAsia. In three hours, I’m there.”
Of the bitcoin Taihutas have captured around the world, almost all of their coins are non-KYCed – meaning they are not subject to “know your customer” rules that prevent centralized exchanges from being used to launder them. is required to be stopped. money or engage in other illegal activity. This means that no one, including the government or friends, knows how much the bitcoin family has stored.
To do this, Taihuttu buys most of its bitcoins over-the-counter.
“There are a lot of forums where you can still buy bitcoin with cash,” Taihuttu told CNBC.
“Every country has its own desk. Mexico has one that does up to a million dollars in cash per day,” Taihuttu continued, though he added that when you buy OTC you may have to buy at a premium.