The price of bitcoin leaped to another record high on Friday, October 13, to over $5,800. With the value of that particular cryptocurrency as well as of its likes growing exponentially in recent months, interest in cryptocurrency trading has also increased quickly.
Last week, the Business Insider Netherlands published a story about a man who put up for sale his house and everything else he owned to use the proceeds to invest in bitcoin. That man is called Didi Taihuttu and many iGaming industry representatives probably know him for his work as Brand Manager for PlayGrand Casino.
Taihuttu, whom we chatted briefly with during the 2016 London Affiliate Conference, told the Business Insider how he got into cryptocurrency trading and why he believes bitcoin and blockchain, the technology behind it and other cryptocurrencies, indeed deserve the attention they have been given lately.
The former casino Brand Manager is one of a growing number of people around the world who believe the rise of bitcoin is real and that the cryptocurrency is here to stay and change the way financial transactions are carried out.
How It Started
Taihuttu first got into bitcoin trading in 2010 when the currency’s price stood at less than a dollar. The entrepreneur bought computers and set up a bitcoin minting business with a friend of his. By 2013, bitcoin’s price had risen to several hundred dollars and Taihuttu decided to sell all the coins he had at the time.
The entrepreneur admits that, had he known that the coins’ value would soar up to thousands of dollars, he would probably have thought twice before selling his stock back in 2013.
Shortly after, a smaller cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, drew Taihuttu’s attention. He recollects that he had “a tremendous” amount of the coin but it was worth almost nothing back then. His valued his Dogecoin portfolio to around €200. He then put aside his minting endeavor for two years.
What Reignited Taihuttu’s Interest in Bitcoin
Late last year, Taihuttu embarked on a nine-month trip around Asia and Australia with his wife and their three daughters. While touring some of the world’s most exotic spots, he received a message from a friend to check his coins. Taihuttu was surprised to see that Dogecoin’s price has leaped around twenty times its previous value. The exponential growth of bitcoin’s price this spring triggered a rise in the worth of other cryptocurrencies.
What is more, during his trip, Taihuttu was constantly bumping into cryptocurrency believers, including old hands in finance who were drawn by the potential of astronomical returns they might have by investing into bitcoin and its likes. This along his friend’s message encouraged him to go back into bitcoin trading.
The New Journey of the Taihuttu Family
The Taihuttus came back home from their trip and a decision was made – to sell their 200,000-square-meter house in Venlo, the Netherlands, and everything they owned so that Didi could be able to get back into his former cryptocurrency endeavors.
They contacted a real estate agent and put up their home for sale. The sale price – 85 bitcoin. A buyer was found and he was ready to pay in bitcoin. However, in the Netherlands, just as in the rest of the world, transactions of this kind cannot be carried out entirely in bitcoin.
Selling and buying a property requires the intervention of a conveyancer. A buyer needs to transfer the property’s price into an account that has been set up by the conveyancer. And conveyancers are usually not equipped with digital wallets to store and trade in bitcoin.
Taihuttu says he wants to help in changing the system so that transactions can be performed in bitcoin. And although the number of people like the entrepreneur, who believe that cryptocurrencies can change and improve the efficiency of the global financial system is growing almost as quickly and significantly as bitcoin’s price, there is still not enough confidence in blockchain and its potential.
After selling their house, the Taihuttus are now embarking on another journey – one towards minimalist life. They have replaced the large four-bedroom house for a chalet on a Venlo campsite. Aside from the house, the family has put other items, including the children’s toys, for sale in a bid to acquire as much bitcoin as possible.
Didi is in contact with all the bitcoin believers he met during his nine-month trip and they discuss and analyze the cryptocurrency market on a daily basis. Trading with bitcoin and other currencies, the entrepreneur wants to respond properly to the ultimate cryptocurrency boom, which he believes will occur within the next five years.
