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The Taihuttu family in November, days after moving back to Phuket.

Didi Taihuttu

Confidence is quickly eroding in the crypto sector, as it faces a wave of bankruptcies and investigations into Sam Bankman-Fried and his failed exchange, FTX, for losing and misspending billions of dollars in user deposits.

But Didi Taihuttu; his wife, Romaine; three daughters, and Teddy, a Pomeranian puppy they adopted in Portugal last year, are as confident as ever in their bet on bitcoin — they’re just changing how they store it.

Ever since liquidating all of their assets and buying bitcoin in 2017 back when it was trading at around $900, the Taihuttus have safeguarded their crypto riches in three main places: centralized exchanges, or CEXs, such as Bybit and Kraken; decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, such as Uniswap; and hardware wallets hidden in secret vaults on four different continents. But as digital asset brokers, lenders, and exchanges continue to fall into bankruptcy — locking up customer funds in the process — the Dutch family of five is proactively moving $1 million in crypto into DEXs, which allow users to hang on to custody of their tokens.

“For me, bitcoin is still about freedom, and decentralized currency should be able to be used by everyone in the world without needing to do KYC or any other regulatory stuff,” Taihuttu told CNBC, referring to the know-your-customer, or KYC compliance, required by many centralized platforms such as Coinbase. DEXs don’t require users to connect an ID or bank account to the platform, hence making it an ideal custody solution for the Taihuttus.

The Taihuttu family in Lagos, Portugal on the day they adopted Teddy, their Pomeranian puppy.

Didi Taihuttu

CNBC caught up with the 44-year-old patriarch a few days after the family made the move from Lagos, Portugal, to Phuket, an island just off the western coast of mainland Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The family is currently living on 0.3 bitcoin a month — about $5,000 — and they are buying back the bitcoin that they sold when the cryptocurrency was trading at around $55,000 a year ago. For the Taihuttus, the cascade of crypto bankruptcies and failed tokens just shows that “bitcoin is the king” and “completely different than all the other projects.”

While the Taihuttus did not have any tokens tied up with FTX, Celsius, Voyager Digital, or any of the other platforms that recently went under, the wave of failures did remind them of the importance of ownership.

In crypto, one of the mantras is “not your keys, not your coins,” meaning that rightful possession of tokens comes through the custody of the corresponding private keys. DEXs such as Uniswap and SushiSwap are peer-to-peer platforms where transactions happen directly between traders, entirely cutting out intermediaries such as banks and brokers. That means that users retain custody of their tokens by never handing over their private keys.

DEXs eliminate centralized intermediaries from financial transactions such as trading, holding and transferring assets through programmable pieces of code known as smart contracts. These contracts are written on a public blockchain such as ethereum, and execute when certain conditions are met, negating the need for a central intermediary. In essence, with DEXs, you trust code, and with CEXs, you trust people.

“You never send your bitcoin to an exchange. Your bitcoin stays in your own wallet, meaning you have complete custody of your coins,” explained Taihuttu. “You connect to a DEX, and by making that connection, you trade out of your own wallet.”

That nuance of ownership is critical.

“If the DEX collapses, it doesn’t matter, because the bitcoin are always in your own wallet,” he added.

It just got harder and less profitable to mine for bitcoin as algorithm adjusts

Changing their storage strategy

From the beginning, Taihuttu said he could tell something was “really off” with FTX, even though it was one of the biggest CEXs on the planet before it imploded in November.

“Too many influencers were paid too much money to promote that one,” said Taihuttu, who added that reliable crypto products and companies typically don’t rely so heavily on celebrity endorsements.

The Dutch father of three had learned his lesson in 2017, when he lost four bitcoin to a hack of a centralized exchange known as Cryptopia.

“From that moment, I was always searching for alternatives,” he explained.

The Taihuttu family in the Netherlands.

Didi Taihuttu

People who choose to hold their own cryptocurrency can store it “hot,” “cold,” or some combination of the two. A hot wallet is connected to the internet and allows owners relatively easy access to their coins so they can spend their crypto. The trade-off for convenience is potential exposure to bad actors.

“Cold storage often refers to crypto that has been moved to wallets whose private keys — the passwords that enable the crypto to be moved out of the wallet — are not stored on internet-connected computers, so that hackers can’t hack into the computer and steal the private keys,” said Philip Gradwell, chief economist of Chainalysis, a blockchain data firm.

Thumb drive-size devices such as a Trezor or Ledger offer a way to secure crypto tokens “cold.” Square is also building a hardware wallet and service “to make bitcoin custody more mainstream.” The Taihuttu family has largely relied on cold storage to safeguard their tokens for the last six years.

Currently, the Taihuttus keep 27% of their crypto holdings “hot” on centralized exchanges such as Bybit, a platform Taihuttu said is transparent and backed by real assets. He also keeps some tokens on Kraken, since it is one of the oldest exchanges. He refers to this crypto stash as his “risk capital,” and he uses these crypto coins for day trading and potentially precarious bets.

The other 73% of Taihuttu’s total crypto portfolio is in cold storage. These cold hardware wallets, which are spread around the globe, hold bitcoin, ether and some litecoin. 

Didi Taihuttu in a desert in Dubai.

Didi Taihuttu

The family declined to say how much it holds in crypto, but they did disclose that they are shifting $1 million worth of bitcoin, ether, litecoin, polkadot, and other tokens from these hardware wallets and centralized exchanges to decentralized exchanges.

Taihuttu said he ultimately wants to move 100% of the family’s crypto savings into DEXs and invest 15% of their net worth into upstart DEXs since he sees these decentralized platforms as the centerpiece of the next bull run. When asked why he is going all in on DEXs instead of keeping his crypto cold, Taihuttu pointed to ease of access.

DEXs allow him to connect the crypto he safeguards on thumb drives in hiding spots all over the world directly to the platform, meaning that he can make trades far more easily while still protecting his tokens.

“Our capital now is really difficult to use in trading, because then I need to send my bitcoin from my ledger into an exchange,” Taihuttu said.

The financial privacy offered by DEXs is also a huge incentive.

“You’re trading from an anonymous ledger on an exchange as an anonymous entity,” he said. “You get full access to non-KYC trading in a decentralized way on a DEX.”

Taihuttu isn’t alone in shifting his focus to DEXs. Following the FTX bankruptcy, Trezor’s sales revenue reportedly jumped 300% and billions of dollars in bitcoin fled exchanges. Meanwhile, Multicoin Capital, a crypto investment firm, told limited partners that 7% of its assets are similarly stored cold, in self-custodied wallets.

Didi Taihuttu and two of his daughters on a boat trip in Portugal.

Didi Taihuttu

The pros and cons of DEXs

Centralized exchanges are a big part of what helped spur crypto adoption by offering new investors an easy on-ramp.

“Centralized exchanges have played a vital role in the adoption of cryptocurrency,” said Auston Bunsen, co-founder of QuikNode, which provides blockchain infrastructure to developers and companies. “With their growth came the industry’s growth.”

But in the last few years, and especially in the last six months, decentralized exchanges have grown in popularity as investors look to trade in a manner that protects their funds.

Boaz Sobrado, a London-based fintech data analyst, sees three main advantages to DEXs: they are noncustodial, meaning you don’t have to trust someone, like Sam Bankman-Fried, to store your funds for you; they are open, meaning anyone in the world can participate; and transaction data is more widely available, reducing the risk of insiders getting an edge from knowledge only they have.

Didi Taihuttu in Lagos, Portugal.

Didi Taihuttu

Uniswap has facilitated more than $1 trillion in trading volume from around 100 million trades since it launched in 2018, according to a research note from Bank of America on June 13. Rival DEXs such as SushiSwap and PancakeSwap have also gained traction among traders, though Uniswap still accounts for around 51% of all trading volumes on DEXs year to date.

While DEXs play an important role in the digital asset ecosystem, there are a lot of reasons these decentralized platforms won’t eclipse their centralized peers any time soon, according to Alkesh Shah, Bank of America‘s head of web3, crypto and digital assets strategy.

“Centralized exchanges provide a one-stop shop for investing or trading digital assets with someone to speak to if something goes wrong — this will be critical for mainstream adoption beyond the early adopters of today,” Shah told CNBC.

Shah said that investors are likely to prefer exchanges that are more transparent about their operating practices, adding that regulated and transparent CEXs are likely to be important for mainstream adoption long-term.

Bank of America said in its June note that it expected Uniswap, in particular, to face regulatory scrutiny. The bank said it also saw the potential for the Securities and Exchange Commission to require its registration as a National Securities Exchange or broker-dealer.

Didi Taihuttu and his eldest daughter, Joli.

Didi Taihuttu

“Uniswap may be unable to comply with regulatory requirements, given its inability to verify user identities, implement AML/KYC [anti-money laundering/know your customer] requirements or provide the necessary disclosures for the thousands of tokens listed on its platform,” the research note said.

Some centralized platforms are splitting the difference by offering DEX-type services, but it is unclear what sort of regulatory blowback they might ultimately face.

Meanwhile, Sobrado told CNBC that at this stage, most DEXs lose money, meaning they might not be sustainable.

DEXs are also automated market makers, meaning that the exchange pools liquidity from its users and then uses an algorithm to price the assets within that pool. Sobrado said that this model has proven remarkably resilient — but is unproven versus orderbook exchanges such as Coinbase.

Under it all, the Bitcoin Family still believes that the original cryptocurrency is a solid bet. They say they haven’t been swayed by the turmoil of the last six months.

“We seem to get that lesson every bitcoin cycle,” said Taihuttu. “It was Mt. Gox, it was banning bitcoin in China, it was banning mining. There’s drama every time.”

“But looking at the current situation: We have a huge war going on, we have a huge financial crisis, we have FTX, we have Celsius, we have a lot of bear market signals,” he said. “I think that bitcoin is really holding strong at $16,800. For me, bitcoin is still doing perfect and still doing what it always does: Being a decentralized currency that is usable by all people all over the world.”

Didi Taihuttu giving a speech on bitcoin adoption in Tulum, Mexico.

Didi Taihuttu

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US military is buying Tesla Cybertrucks to use as targets for missiles

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6 hours ago

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August 7, 2025

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US military is buying Tesla Cybertrucks to use as targets for missiles

Elon Musk is getting his wish; Tesla Cybertrucks are going to be used by the US military, but perhaps not in the way he intended.

The U.S. Air Force is looking to purchase two Tesla Cybertrucks and use them for what amounts to target practice.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has touted the Cybertruck as being “bulletproof” and designed to “survive the apocalypse.” He suggested it could be used by the military and even directly pitched the electric pickup truck to the US military.

Considering that the Cybertruck has turned out to be a commercial flop and Tesla is currently experiencing issues selling it, despite reduced production, the automaker could benefit from a Cybertruck order from the US military.

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It looks like it is about to get one.

According to new documents first obtained by ‘The War Zone‘, the U.S. Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is looking to acquire 33 target vehicles—including two Tesla Cybertrucks—for delivery to the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico,

The list of requested vehicles includes various sedans, pickups, SUVs, and bongo trucks, but there are no specific brand requirements for those, except for the Cybertrucks.

They plan to use these vehicles as targets for precision-guided weapons. Why would they need a specific vehicle such as the Cybertruck?

In the document, they had to explain the reason behind requesting a vehicle from a specific brand. They wrote:

[Redacted] intends to use specific Tesla manufactured vehicles for target vehicle training flight test events. In the operating theatre it is likely the type of vehicles used by the enemy may transition to Tesla Cyber trucks as they have been found not to receive the normal extent of damage expected upon major impact. Testing needs to mirror real world situations. The intent of the training is to prep the units for operations by simulating scenarios as closely as possible to the real world situations.

It sounds like the justification is that the US military believes that its enemies might start using the Tesla Cybertruck, and it wants to make sure its weapons work on it.

Here’s the document in question:

Electrek’s Take

That’s pretty funny. The US military is buying Tesla Cybertrucks to use as targets to shoot missiles at because they think enemies might start using them.

The jokes write themselves. You read that headline, and you would think that it’s Trump trying to get back to Musk by literally blowing up his dumpster of a truck.

However, the most astonishing aspect is that the US military is not wrong here.

As we previously reported, Chechen leader and self-proclaimed “Putin’s foot soldier” Ramzan Kadyrov managed to obtain a couple of Cybertrucks, which he outfitted with guns. Then he claimed that they went to war in Ukraine.

Now, less than a year later, the US military wants to ensure it is equipped to take down Cybertrucks.

Anyway, good for Tesla. It needs all the Cybertruck sales it can get, considering it is currently selling them at a rate of 20,000 per year when Musk aimed for 500,000 a year.

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Genesis quietly dropped this EV from its US lineup

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9 hours ago

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August 6, 2025

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Genesis quietly dropped this EV from its US lineup

Genesis-EV-US

The Genesis Electrified G80 will no longer be sold in the US. Genesis has already pulled the luxury EV sedan from its website.

Genesis pulls the Electrified G80 EV from its US lineup

The Electrified G80 went on sale in the US in the first half of 2023, but has struggled to gain any momentum. Last year, Genesis introduced an updated model with longer range, more interior space, and added luxury, claiming it’s now at the flagship level.

Those in the US may never get to see it. Genesis has already removed the Electrified G80 from its website, with only the GV60 and Electrified GV70 now listed.

The luxury car maker confirmed to Car and Driver on Wednesday that the electric G80 sedan is no longer being offered in North America.

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Genesis explained that “the customer is at the core of every decision we make, and we remain flexible as we adapt to ever-changing consumer needs and market conditions.”

Genesis-G80-EV-US
Genesis Electrified G80 updated model (Source: Hyundai)

The 2024 Electrified G80 was the final model year, and the 2025 version was never sold in the US. Powered by an 87 kWh battery, the Electrified G80 was rated with an EPA-estimated range of 282 miles. Although the updated model boasted a larger battery (94.5 kWh) with increased range (up to 295 miles) in Korea, it still falls short of rivals like the Lucid Air or Tesla Model S.

Genesis sold just 397 models in 2024 and another 77 in the first half of 2025. In comparison, Lucid sold over 5,000 Air sedans in H1, while Tesla has sold 2,715 Model S sedans in the US.

Genesis-Electrified-G80-interior
The interior of the new Genesis Electrified G80 update (Source: Hyundai)

Although Korean automakers, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, dodged the maximum 25% tariff, they will still face a 15% duty on imported vehicles. As its slowest-selling EV, it’s no surprise to see Genesis dropping it from its lineup.

With the $7,500 federal tax credit expiring at the end of September, Genesis is pushing big discounts on its remaining EV models.

Genesis is offering an $18,000 EV Lease Bonus on the 2025 Electrified GV70 and $13,750 bonus for the 2025 GV60. Leases currently start as low as $389 per month.

Looking to test one out for yourself? You can use our links below to view 2025 Genesis GV60 and Electrified GV70 models in your area.

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Bluetti’s new Elite 30 V2 288Wh station gets first savings starting from $199, Segway F3 smart eKickScooter $750, NIU e-scooter sale, more

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10 hours ago

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August 6, 2025

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Bluetti's new Elite 30 V2 288Wh station gets first savings starting from 9, Segway F3 smart eKickScooter 0, NIU e-scooter sale, more

Headlining today’s Green Deals is the first discount hitting Bluetti’s new Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station, which also has an additional solar bundle offer starting from $199. We also spotted the first post-tariff discount from Segway on its new Ninebot F3 Electric KickScooter to $750, as well as NIU’s Fan-tastic Day Sale that is taking up to 42% off its KQi lineup of scooters, including the KQi 300X All-Terrain Suspension Electric Scooter that is back at the best price of 2025 for $750, among others. We also have a new low price on Greenworks’ 82V Commercial 20-inch Cordless Chainsaw kit and a one-day-only discount on Worx’s 12A 7.5-inch Edger/Trencher, and more waiting for you below. Plus, all the hangover savings are at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Anker SOLIX Summer Power Sale offers, Ride1Up’s increased e-bike savings, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Get up to $200 in first savings on Bluetti’s new Elite 30 V2 portable 288Wh LiFePO4 power station starting from $199

Back on Friday, Bluetti launched its new Apex 300 Versatile Power Station with up to $3,150 in exclusive savings that has had fans of the brand buzzing, while also eclipsing another new and more compact release. Now, with its latest Solar Generator Sale, Bluetti is cutting the cost on its Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station to $199 shipped, with that price matching at Amazon for Prime members, bringing it down from the $299 price tag. It just hit the market at the top of the month, but as I said, its release was overshadowed by the larger and more expansive Apex 300 unit and its bundles. You can score a $100 markdown now, though, which sets the bar for future discounts, with a solar bundle option for this model that tacks on a 100W panel for $398 shipped, down from $598.

While larger solar generator setups can help through many situations, more and more people are finding convenience in owning smaller backup power solutions, especially here in NYC, with many folks having limited space to keep them. That’s where units like Bluetti’s Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station come in, which offers a 288Wh LiFePO4 capacity to cover personal device charging with 600W of steady output that can ramp as high as 1,500W.

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Bluetti’s Elite 30 V2 power station has nine different port options to cover all the bases: two AC outlets, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, two DC ports, and a car port. It even beats out many counterparts/competitors of the same size range with five ways to recharge its battery: via a standard outlet, utilizing up to a max 200W solar input, using both an outlet and solar panels together, connecting a generator, or using your car’s auxiliary port.

You can get the full rundown on Bluetti’s other new and more expansive release, the Apex 300 Versatile Power Station with up to $3,150 in exclusive savings across several bundle options – all starting from $1,439.

man riding down street on Segway Ninebot F3 Electric KickScooter

Segway’s Ninebot F3 smart eKickScooter with Apple Find My + proximity locking gets first post-tariff cut to $750

Segway is offering a special promotional discount through August 17 on its new Ninebot F3 Electric KickScooter at $749.99 shipped, after using the code F3AUG100OFF at checkout, which beats out Amazon’s pricing by $50.This model launched back in April carrying a $850 original price tag (which Amazon still keeps it listed for) and has since hiked up to a $1,000 MSRP direct from the brand after May’s tariff hikes. The two pre-tariff discounts we saw took the costs down to $700 and $600 back in April, and while it may not be falling that low any anytime soon again, you’re still looking at a solid $100 savings from its starting rate for the third-lowest price we have tracked.

If you want to learn more about this model, be sure to check out our original coverage of this ongoing deal here.

man standing on NIU KQi 300X all-terrain suspension electric scooter

NIU drops the KQi 300X all-terrain e-scooter with a 37-mile range and regen brakes to $750 in latest sale

NIU has launched its Fan-tastic Day Sale through August 17 that is taking up to 42% off its KQi e-scooter lineup. Some of the brand’s models are still out of stock from last month, but among those still available, we spotted the KQi 300X All-Terrain Suspension Electric Scooter at $749.99 shipped, while also matching in price at Amazon. While it carries a $1,299 MSRP normally, at Amazon we’ve been seeing it mostly staying between $1,049 and $1,198, with discounts having been slowly ramping up over the course of the year. You’re looking at the best price of 2025, which saves you $549 off the MSRP and has only been beaten out by the $731 low we last saw pop up in October 2024.

If you want to learn more about this model or the other e-scooter deals, be sure to check out our original coverage of this sale here.

man uses Greenworks 82V 20-inch cordless chainsaw to fell tree

Add commercial-grade power to your arsenal with Greenworks’ 82V 20-inch cordless chainsaw at a new $430 low

Amazon is now offering the Greenworks Commercial 82V 20-inch Cordless Chainsaw for $429.99 shipped. While it carries a $600 MSRP tag directly from the brand, where it’s currently priced at, we’ve seen it keep lower to $500 at Amazon. It’s been on the market for six months now, with the discounts we’ve spotted only taken the costs down to $450 until today. Now, with the 20% markdown here, you’ll save $70 while equipping your arsenal with commercial-grade power.

If you want to learn more about this commercial-grade chainsaw, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

Worx's 12A 7.5-inch Lawn Edger/Trencher creating perfect line into lawn

Keep uniform lines around yard and gardens with Worx’s 12A 7.5-inch edger/trencher at $90 (Today only)

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Worx 12A 7.5-inch Edger/Trencher for $89.99 shipped, with this model being out of stock on Amazon and sitting at a higher $140 MSRP directly from Worx’s website. It normally fetches $130 at full price here, with discounts mostly keeping the costs between $110 and $100 during 2025, though we have seen it go as low as $75 during Prime Day. You’re looking at the fourth-lowest overall price that we have tracked and the third-lowest of the year, with the deal today saving you $40 off the going rate for the rest of the day only.

If you want to learn more about this edger/trencher, be sure to check out our original coverage of this one-day-only deal here.

Best Summer EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

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