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Taihuttu family in Phuket, Thailand

Didi Taihuttu

LAGOS, PORTUGAL — In the small coastal town of Lagos in the heart of Portugal’s southern Algarve region, Didi Taihuttu begins most days on the rooftop of his villa — an unassuming home with rustic charm set atop a hill that slopes up from the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean sun bounces off the bright white stucco walls of the house, illuminating the orange terracotta roof and casting a glow over Taihuttu, who sits on a plastic chair tucked under a round table of the same make. The Dutch patriarch of the ‘Bitcoin Family’ drinks black coffee and pores over cryptocurrency price charts on his MacBook Pro as he decides which trades will begin his day.

“We just need a few thousand per month to live on so our performance is not really important to us,” Taihuttu tells CNBC from his deck overlooking an expansive stretch of cobalt-colored water, cliff-backed beaches and bougainvillea.

Taihuttu’s family home in Lagos, Portugal

MacKenzie Sigalos

Taihuttu’s self-effacement and modest surroundings belie the 45-year-old’s success. In 2017, Taihuttu, along with his wife and three kids, liquidated all of their assets, trading a 2,500-square-foot house and most of their earthly possessions for bitcoin and a life on the road. This was back when the price of bitcoin was around $900. Bitcoin is currently trading at over $30,000, down from an all-time high of nearly $70,000 in Nov. 2021.

Those extreme price swings have helped grow the Dutch family’s crypto nest egg.

For seven years, the investor has regularly been swapping his bitcoin for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins in order to capitalize on the volatility in the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. When Taihuttu thinks that bitcoin is reaching a bull market peak, he trades his bitcoin into stablecoins like tether, USDC, and DAI — and when it appears as though bitcoin is touching cycle lows during a bear market, he starts buying it back. So far, Taihuttu says the gamble is working out great thanks to a market indicator he created himself dubbed the “Didi BAM BAM.”

Didi Taihuttu in Lagos, Portugal

MacKenzie Sigalos

Taihuttu’s indicator considers a mix of inputs, including directional trading data and moon cycles. It’s guided all of Taihuttu’s investing decisions since he built it before the pandemic.

“From mid-November to the start of December 2022, we saw the first signs the bear market was completely over,” said Taihuttu. “It was confirmed in January 2023 when the long flag appeared in the model.”

He added, “People should have been buying bitcoin already, because every bitcoin you bought at $16k, it’s at $30k now, so that’s almost 90% upside.”

The father of three says his bitcoin investment is up about 50% since the bottom of the most recent bear market.

The Taihuttus declined to share with CNBC the current dollar amount of their crypto investment in aggregate — but Didi did disclose that they had fully bought back into bitcoin by the time the coin surpassed the $19,000 price threshold, so they’re “not doing so bad.”

It also helps that the nomadic family’s primary domicile is in Portugal — Europe’s ultimate crypto tax haven.

“You don’t pay any capital gains tax or anything else in Portugal on cryptocurrency,” said Taihuttu. “As long as you don’t earn cryptocurrency for providing services in Portugal, you’re in the clear.”

“That’s a very beautiful bitcoin heaven,” he said.

Didi Taihuttu in Lagos, Portugal

Didi Taihuttu

How the ‘BAM BAM’ indicator works

When Taihuttu began day trading tokens, he initially turned to traditional predictive metrics like the stock-to-flow model and the Mayer Multiple — a measure calculated by dividing the current price of bitcoin by the 200-day moving average in order to help identify frothy moments in the market when an asset’s value eclipses its intrinsic value.

But spending the time reading the tea leaves of all these somewhat related measures didn’t seem like a particularly productive use of his time, so Taihuttu decided to create his own proprietary blend of the best indicators on the market.

“It’s not just enough to know which indicators go into a formula,” explained Taihuttu. “What you can’t see is the calculus and the code that implements over the stock conditions. Those calculations display in charts.”

So beginning in 2019, Taihuttu started to incubate and perfect a custom-built predictive trading tool that would weigh multiple technical indicators — plus a bit of astrology — and then spit out real-time insights into potential price swings.

“It’s a combination of Bollinger Bands, Lower and Upper Bands, NMA, Red/Green Ribbon, NormStoch, RSI, Price Oscillator, Plot, MACD, Cross, Chande Momentum Oscillator, RSI-EMA, Full Moon, and New Moon,” explained Taihuttu, naming a dozen of the most popular market signals that crypto traders watch when they make investment decisions.

“Short and long signals and confirmation signals are shown on the charts when it could be a great moment to buy or sell,” continued Taihuttu.

Taihuttu family in Lagos, Portugal

MacKenzie Sigalos

Here is a quick breakdown of the technicals that underly the model:

  • Bollinger Bands focus on price volatility over time. The model consists of a simple moving average line with two standard deviation lines known as the Upper and Lower Bands. Price moves outside those outer bands can indicate whether an asset is oversold — or vice versa.
  • N-day Moving Average (NMA) is a type of moving average that takes the mean of the closing price of an asset over a variable period of time, or “N” days.
  • Red/Green Ribbon indicators depict bullish, or green, and bearish, or red, market conditions.
  • The Normalized Stochastic (NormStoch) looks at price momentum. It is a variation of the Stochastic Oscillator — an indicator which compares the closing price of an asset to its price variation over a designated period of time.
  • Similar to the Bollinger Bands, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) assesses whether an asset is oversold or overbought. The index, which ranges from 0 to 100, measures the speed and the scale of an asset’s recent price swings.
  • Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) compares two moving averages of a cryptocurrency’s price by subtracting the 26-period exponential moving average (EMA) from the 12-period EMA.
  • The Percentage Price Oscillator (PPO) takes the MACD reading and divides it by the 26-period EMA. It is possible to compare the PPO measures of different assets with larger price discrepancies, because it is expressed as a percentage.
  • With bitcoin, when the line charting the 50-day moving average crosses above a rising 200-day moving average, it is read as a bullish indicator known as a Golden Cross. When the 50-day moving average crosses below a falling 200-day moving average, it is known as the Death Cross, signaling a bear market may be imminent.
  • Chande Momentum Oscillator is a technical momentum indicator similar to the Relative Strength Index and the Stochastic Oscillator, except that it reacts faster to price changes.
  • As the name implies, the Relative Strength Index-Exponential Moving Average (RSI-EMA) combines both measures into a single indicator.

Price chart showing the ‘Didi BAM BAM’ market indicator

Didi Taihuttu

And then there are the intangible price influencers — like moon phases.

“I’m not saying it always affects the price of bitcoin, but the moon influences a lot,” said Taihuttu.

Taihuttu has found that when there is a full moon or a half moon, people tend to trade more.

“They tend to buy more, they tend to sell more,” he said. “Maybe it’s a coincidence, but if you look at the chart, you can see that mostly at the full moon, depending on where we are in the cycle, there’s a dump or a pump.”

Taihuttu added that the lunar phases also typically sync with the opening and closing of bitcoin’s monthly puts and options.

“So if we are in the top of the Bollinger Band in combination with a full moon, then you know that we are going to run,” continued Taihuttu, suggesting a market sell-off is imminent.

Losing his edge to ChatGPT

Taihuttu used to sell the Didi Bam Bam indicator to traders, but he says he will soon make give the trading tool away to selected bitcoin evangelists in order to help spur adoption.

But he also admits that his business model is disappearing.

“Anyone in the world can now go into ChatGPT and tell them, ‘Write me an indicator based on the moving averages and this cycle or that cycle. And write me a script that I can implement into TradingView and then they can make their own indicators,'” explained Taihuttu.

“I’m losing business there.”

‘Bitcoin Family’ in Thailand

Didi Taihuttu

Generative AI is a specific form of AI that is able to produce content from scratch. The systems take inputs from the user and feed them into powerful algorithms fueled by large datasets to generate new text, images, and video in a way that can appear almost human-like.

The technology captured the spotlight following widespread public adoption of OpenAI’s GPT language processing technology. ChatGPT, which uses massive language models to create human-sounding responses to questions, has ignited an arms race among some companies over what is seen as the next “paradigm shift” in tech.

While ChatGPT isn’t able to deliver a querent a trading algorithm in Pine Script, which is TradingView’s programming language, the technology does challenge the role of investment advisers.

In March, Goldman Sachs‘ chief information officer, Marco Argenti, told CNBC the bank is experimenting with generative AI tools internally to help its developers automatically generate and test code.

More recently, in May, Goldman spun off the first startup from the bank’s internal incubator — an AI-powered social media company for corporate use called Louisa. The push into AI is part of a larger effort by CEO David Solomon to expedite the bank’s digital makeover.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, is using it to inform its financial advisors on queries they may have. The bank has been testing an OpenAI-powered chatbot with 300 advisors so far, with a view to ultimately aid its roughly 16,000 advisors in making use of Morgan Stanley’s repository of research and data, according to Jeff McMillan, head of analytics and data at the firm’s wealth management division.

Taihuttu uses ChatGPT himself — but more for writing articles about subjects like bitcoin and the Lightning Networks. But he notes that while it is a productivity hack, the output doesn’t necessarily rank highly in search results.

“They will still find out that it’s ChatGPT,” he says. “But it’s still saving you a lot of time.”

— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

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

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Elon Musk’s Boring Company has work crew in Nashville walk off job over unpaid bills and safety

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18 hours ago

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November 26, 2025

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Elon Musk’s Boring Company has work crew in Nashville walk off job over unpaid bills and safety


The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, is reportedly facing significant issues with its new project in Nashville, Tennessee. A key subcontractor has walked off the job, alleging that the company has failed to pay for work completed on the “Music City Loop,” claiming they have received only 5% of what they are owed.

We have been following The Boring Company’s expansion efforts closely.

After the relative success of the Las Vegas Loop and several projects that failed to materialize, it looked like the company was winding down until a new proposal in Nashville gained some momentum.

However, a new report from the Nashville Banner indicates that the project is hitting a major wall.

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Shane Trucking and Excavating, a local contractor hired to handle preliminary work for the tunnel project, pulled its workers off the site this Monday. William Shane, the owner of the company, told the Banner that The Boring Company has “ghosted” them and failed to pay invoices totaling in the six figures.

According to Shane, the payment terms were initially set for every 15 days, then unilaterally switched to 60 days. Now, he claims it has been over 120 days since they broke ground, and his company has received only a fraction of the payment due.

“We were really skeptical from the beginning, and then since then, things pretty much just went downhill,” Shane said.

The contractor was reportedly responsible for preparing the launch pad for “Prufrock,” The Boring Company’s proprietary tunnel boring machine (TBM). We previously reported on Prufrock’s capabilities, with the company claiming it can dig tunnels significantly faster than conventional machines, supposedly porpoising directly from the surface to avoid digging expensive launch pits.

If the launch pad isn’t finished because the excavator wasn’t paid, Prufrock isn’t digging anywhere.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of payment issues involving Musk-led companies. Tesla has been known to not pay its bills, leading to small companies going bankrupt.

As The Boring Company was stiffing Shane on the bills, the company tried to poach workers from its own contractor and lied about it:

“One of their head guys texts two of my welders, offering them a job for $45 an hour from his work phone,” Shane described, noting that the same TBC employee denied sending the texts when confronted with screenshots. “That’s actually a breach of contract.”

On top of the missed payments, Shane alleges serious safety concerns. They made several official complaints to OSHA:

“Where we’re digging, we’re so far down, there should be concrete and different structures like that to hold the slope back from falling on you while you’re working. Where most people use concrete, they currently have — I’m not even kidding — they currently have wood. They had us install wood 2x12s.” 

The Boring Company Vice President David Buss blamed missed payments on “invoicing errors” in a statement to the Banner:

“It does look like we had some invoicing errors on that. It was, you know, unfortunately, too common of a thing, but I assured them that we are going to make sure that invoices are wired tomorrow.”

He also said that he would look into the poaching allegations, but added that he is not aware of any OSHA complaints.

The “Music City Loop” was pitched as a solution to connect downtown Nashville to the airport, a route that is notoriously congested.

The Boring Company claims it can complete the project without public money, but there are some obvious issues with its financing.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the “Loop” concept. While it falls short of the original “autonomous pods” vision or the “Hyperloop” speed dreams, the system in Las Vegas does work to move people, even if it is just Teslas in tunnels driven by humans.

There’s just no evidence that it would be more efficient than any other public transit system.

When Musk launched The Boring Company’s first test tunnel in LA, I asked him if he had any simulations showing his “loop” system to be more efficient. He said that they were working on that. That was 7 years ago.

Therefore, while The Boring Company appears to have achieved marginal improvements in tunnel boring, mainly when it comes to smaller tunnels; it has yet to show clear evidence that its Loop system is a better solution than any other public transit system.


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Heybike Mars 3.0 and Ranger 3.0 Pro e-bikes get Black Friday cuts to lows from $1,199, Tesla + Leviton EV chargers, Hiboy EV lows, more

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18 hours ago

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November 26, 2025

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Heybike Mars 3.0 and Ranger 3.0 Pro e-bikes get Black Friday cuts to lows from ,199, Tesla + Leviton EV chargers, Hiboy EV lows, more


Our Green Deals today are all centered around Black Friday EV savings, led by the first post-launch price cuts on Heybike’s new Mars 3.0 Folding e-bike to its $1,199 low, as well as the equally new Ranger 3.0 Folding e-bike options starting from a $1,399 low. From there, we spotted Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector EV charger retaining a $50 price cut to $600, as well as Leviton’s smart 48A level 2 EV charger at a new low, Hiboy’s Black Friday EV sale with tons of new low prices thanks to the 53% initial discounts and bonus savings codes, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals that are collected together at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s increased Velotric Black Friday savings with new lows and extra battery bundles starting from $999, the Lectric XPeak 2.0 Off-Road e-bike bundles that are shrinking in stock, 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.

Heybike drops new Mars 3.0 folding e-bike back to its $1,199 low during Black Friday sale for first time since launch

As part of its ongoing Black Friday e-bike sale, and coming right alongside the equally new price cut on the Ranger 3.0 Pro, Heybike is giving us the first official post-launch discount on its Mars 3.0 Folding Fat-Tire e-bike for $1,199 shipped, as well as a FREE Black Friday gift pack. It launched back at the top of August with a $100 discount from its $1,299 full price, which is repeating here for the first time since those initial deals cooled, and while the discount may not be large, you’re certainly getting a lot of upgraded features for such a low price.

Designed for those riders who seek greater thrills, the new Heybike Mars 3.0 e-bike brings along the new Galaxy Perform eDrive System, which pairs a 750W rear hub motor (1,400W peak) with 95nM of torque (and an obvious torque sensor), as well as a removable 624Wh battery. This system allows you to reach 20 or 28 MPH top speeds, determined by your local laws, and provides pedal-assisted support for up to 65 miles on one full charge. Just like the equally new Ranger 3.0 Pro model, you’ll find a new TFT display on this generation that delivers NFC start-up so you can turn it on by simply tapping your device to the display.

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Aside from its continued space-saving, folding frame, you’ll also notice an improved 440-pound payload so heavier riders can get in on the fun or allow smaller riders to haul some serious cargo weight. The lineup of upgraded features includes a hydraulic suspension fork, a rear Horst link suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, 4-inch puncture-protected tires with fenders, a brake-lit taillight with turn signals, a headlight, a horn, a rear cargo rack, a Shimano Altus 8-speed derailleur, and more.

man and woman riding Heybike Ranger 3.0 Pro e-bikes down street

Heybike’s new-gen Ranger 3.0 Pro folding commuter e-bike gets first post-launch cut to $1,399 low for Black Friday

As part of Heybike’s ongoing Black Friday Sale, and coming in right alongside the new Mars 3.0 Folding e-bike price drop, we’re also now seeing the new Ranger 3.0 Pro Folding Fat-Tire e-bike getting a cut to $1,399 shipped and coming with a FREE Black Friday gift pack. This model was released alongside the Mars 3.0 back in August, and has remained at its $1,499 full price since the initial launch deals ended that month. Now, during this Black Friday season, the brand is offering the first post-launch discount we have seen, giving you another chance at $100 savings on an already lower-cost commuter solution at its best price that we have tracked. Of course, if you want an even more premium look, this model has a Limited Miami Sunset colorway option that has been given a price cut to $1,599 shipped, as well as a Black Friday gift pack and a Miami Sunset gift pack for more added goodies.

Like the Mars 3.0 counterpart, the new Heybike Ranger 3.0 Pro e-bike is quite the higher-end solution for folks seeking new commuting options, all while retaining accessible pricing. It’s been upgraded from the popular Ranger S model with the new Galaxy Perform eDrive System, combining a 750W rear hub motor (1,200W peak), 80nM of torque, and a 720Wh battery. This combination provides a max speed of 20/28 MPH (depending on individual state laws), as well as pedal-assisted support (presided over by a torque sensor) for up to 90 miles on one charge, making it quite the handy commuter – plus, there’s the space-saving folding frame when you reach your destination. It boasts a new TFT display that allows you to tap your phone for NFC start-ups, giving you an extra layer of smart security.

Among its upgraded features, you’ll find a hydraulic suspension fork, 4-inch puncture-protected tires with fenders over each, hydraulic disc brakes, a headlight and horn at its front, a taillight with brake lighting and turn signal lighting, an 8-speed Shimano Altus derailleur, and more. And pivoting back to its folding design, this model condenses even smaller than its predecessor to a 41.7-inch by 20.5-inch by 32.7-inch size.

Tesla universal wall connector EV chargers installed at home driveway with two vehicles parked

Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector with dual NACS + J1772 connectors and customizable 48A speeds retains $50 cut to $600

While Amazon’s ongoing Black Friday Week Sale is going strong, we noticed that the official Tesla storefront is retaining the price cut on its Universal Wall Connector at $600 shipped during this holiday season, with it also matching the price at Best Buy. Earlier in the year we saw the price on this model rise to $650, where it’s been keeping until the more recent $50 markdown brought costs lower, giving you some continued holiday shopping relief here. Sadly, we haven’t seen any similar markdowns on its standard wall connector that is keeping to $450 shipped, or its newer Gen 2 Wall Connector models starting from $1,399 shipped.

If you want to learn more about this universal EV charger, be sure to check out our original coverage of this ongoing price cut here.

man riding Hiboy TITAN electric scooter
man using Leviton smart 48A level 2 EV charger to power vehicle

Best Fall 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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The Kia EV4 is delayed, but another EV is still quietly coming to the US

Published

19 hours ago

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November 26, 2025

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The Kia EV4 is delayed, but another EV is still quietly coming to the US

Kia-another-EV-US

The EV4 will sadly not arrive in the US as expected, but Kia said it’s still planning on launching another EV that’s expected to be an even bigger hit.

Kia confirms EV4 delay, says another EV is still US-bound

The EV4, Kia’s first electric sedan, was expected to launch in the US within the next few months, but that will no longer be the case.

Kia has indefinitely delayed the launch of the EV4 in the US due to policy changes under the Trump administration.

The loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and added tariffs on Korean imports have forced Kia, like many others, to adjust their US lineup.

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According to Kia America’s marketing boss, Russel Wager, the EV4 is only a small part of the broader tariff-related impacts the Korean automaker is facing. Wager told Car and Driver on the sidelines of the LA Auto Show that the changes will likely impact other vehicles and prices.

Kia-EV4-US-delay
2026 Kia EV4 US-spec (Source: Kia)

When asked for specifics about why the EV4 is being pushed back, Wager said, “Can you give me the answer of when the tariffs are going to be resolved in Mexico, Canada, and Seoul? If you give me that answer, I’ll be as specific as possible.”

While the EV4 is delayed indefinitely, Wager suggested bringing the EV3 to the US, Kia’s compact SUV, is still part of the plan.

Kia-EV3-US
Kia EV3 (Source: Kia)

The Kia EV3 is already one of the most popular EVs in Europe and the UK’s best-selling retail electric car this year. Given the growing demand for smaller SUVs, the EV3 is expected to be an even bigger hit with US buyers than the EV4.

When it will launch in the US or how much it will cost remains up in the air until Kia gets a better idea of market conditions.

Kia-another-EV-US
The 2026 Kia EV9 (Source: Kia)

Kia’s EV sales plunged after the federal tax credit expired at the end of September. Sales of the EV6 and EV9 fell by 71% and 66% last month compared to October 2024.

According to Wager, the automaker won’t really know what demand looks like until February or March 2026, since the loss of the $7,500 credit likely pulled buyers forward.

Kia-EV3-US
Kia EV3 Air in Frost Blue (Source: Kia UK)

Kia is still ready to launch the EV4 in the US, but that’s only if the tariff situation stabilizes. Earlier this month, the US and South Korea agreed to reduce tariffs on imports from 25% to 15%.

“At that point in time we look at it and say, are we at 25 [percent], are we at 15—and then we can build our business case,” Wager said, adding, “It was originally designed and engineered when the tariffs were zero percent.”

The electric pickup that Kia announced just a few months ago may never make it to the US. Wager pointed to Ford halting F-150 Lightning production and reports that it could be scrapped altogether.

In the meantime, Kia is heavily discounting its current electric vehicles, offering a $10,000 customer cash bonus on every model. Or, you can opt for 0% financing for 72 months plus an extra $2,500 bonus cash. Kia’s sister company, Hyundai, is also offering generous discounts with IONIQ 5 leases starting at just $189 per month.

Interested in a test drive? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find Kia and
Hyundai models in your area.


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