In 2016, Dutch national Didi Taihuttu, his wife and three daughters sold everything they owned to invest in Bitcoin when it was trading at only $900.
“We sold everything we had – house, cars, motorbikes, holiday home, clothes, toys, furniture and [it] all went into Bitcoin,” Mr Taihuttu tells The National.
“As a family, we discovered that we preferred the minimalist approach to life. We wanted to prepare our kids for a decentralised future where everything will be provided by a sharing economy – cars, houses and more things will be entities on the blockchain that you can use for a certain time and pay accordingly.”
On Saturday, the total market value of cryptocurrencies rose to $2.06 trillion, according to CoinGecko, which tracks more than 8,800 coins. Bitcoin reached $48,152 at the weekend, its highest level since May 16, as it showed staying power above its 200-day moving average. At 5pm UAE time on Monday, the cryptocurrency was trading at $47,228.69.
We sold everything we had – house, cars, motorbikes, holiday home, clothes, toys, furniture and [it] all went into Bitcoin
Didi Taihuttu,
cryptocurrency investor
Mr Taihuttu, 43, declined to say how much their cryptocurrency holdings are now worth.
The family, who are currently in Portugal, store their portfolio of digital currencies in secret vaults around the world, with 70 per cent of their holdings in cold storage and 30 per cent in hot wallets, which they access for daily expenses.
“My assets are spread across four continents, however, I do not wish to disclose the countries or places,” Mr Taihuttu says.
Cryptocurrency wallets are tools that are commonly used to store and protect digital coins, and come in different forms and varieties.
Hot wallets are connected to the internet and give cryptocurrency owners easy access to their digital coins. The cold wallet storage method is more secure as it is completely removed from the internet ecosystem.
Hot wallet storage systems are considered riskier as they can access (and theoretically be accessed by) other parts of the internet and are more likely to face security issues or potentially be hacked, according to Investopedia.
About 45 per cent of 4,000 people in the UAE, US, UK, China and South Korea polled by blockchain-based research platform Realresearch last year admitted to using digital wallets frequently, while 18.6 per cent of users said they use only cold wallets. Half the respondents also said the security of their cryptocurrency assets is extremely important when choosing a new wallet.
When storing cryptocurrencies, choosing the right wallet is one of the most critical decisions that investors have to consider, says Devesh Mamtani, chief market strategist at Century Financial.
“A cryptocurrency wallet stores both the private and public keys of a cryptocurrency user to a point of safety that no other person can gain access to their tokens without permission. This means that even if you have lost access to your own key, you will be locked out and will not be able to access your tokens at all. Different types of wallets include hot wallet, cold wallet, hardware wallet and paper wallet,” Mr Mamtani adds.
In hot wallets, the user entrusts their private and public keys to the platform that manages and secures both keys. A cold wallet can come in software forms such as apps that are used on a computer or smartphone or as a hardware device, which is plugged in but remains offline, Mr Mamtani says.
Mr Taihuttu started mining Bitcoin and Dogecoin in 2013. After his father passed away in January 2016, Mr Taihuttu, his wife and three children travelled to Thailand.
A cryptocurrency wallet stores both the private and public keys of a cryptocurrency user to a point of safety that no other person can gain access to their tokens without permission
Devesh Mamtani,
chief market strategist at Century Financial
It was during their travels that Mr Taihuttu noticed how many people did not have access to banking systems. This led him to see Bitcoin as a solution for decentralised finance “in a way the internet was the solution for worldwide connectivity”.
“I want to support a decentralised open economy and don’t want to put my capital in the hands of centralised organisations,” Mr Taihuttu says.
“I saw it would be the (r)evolution of the monetary system into a decentralised one and decided to go all in and support it as it was in line with my values.”
Digital currencies are not licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, although a number of cryptocurrency exchanges have been given permission to operate within the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The UAE dirham is the only legal tender in the country that is recognised by the regulator.
The Taihuttu family, who have travelled to 42 countries over the past few years, use their hot wallet cryptocurrency holdings to trade and pay for flights, housing expenses and groceries.
Although their cryptocurrency portfolio is dominated by Bitcoin, it also includes Ethereum, Litecoin, Cardano, Dot, Link and some Dogecoin, Mr Taihuttu says.
Mr Taihuttu allocates part of their profits to both the cold and hot wallets. The family rarely withdraws money from their cold wallets because they are long-term holdings, he says.
Mr Mamtani advises against storing a large number of cryptocurrencies in hot wallets as the system could be vulnerable to hacking. Investors should also research the platform they plan to use for their storage solution, he adds.
Earlier this year, a security breach on cryptocurrency platform Roll enabled a hacker to obtain the private key to its hot wallet and they stole about $5.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies, Mr Mamtani says. Similarly, in 2019, a hacker group breached a hot wallet on Binance, one of the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, and 7,000 Bitcoins worth $41m were stolen.
Mr Taihuttu is unfazed by the volatility of cryptocurrencies, saying this is what makes it perfect for trading. An asset that is not volatile is too boring and doesn’t give you an annual return of 200 per cent like Bitcoin has done in the past 12 years, he adds.
“I believe Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in this bull run and even $1m per Bitcoin in the long term. I see it as a decentralised pension fund,” Mr Taihuttu says.
“In the 1990s, you needed to do physical work to earn money but in the 21st century you can really let the money work for you by using AI [artificial intelligence] trading bots,” he says. “For me, Bitcoin is a decentralised, disruptive, 24/7 usable, borderless, immutable, censorship-resistant, P2P [person to person] digital cash that will include the excluded in the monetary system.”
Citing the evolution of money – starting from the barter system, commodity money, metal money, paper money, plastic money and internet money like PayPal – Mr Taihuttu believes it is now time to switch to decentralised internet money such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“If you want to support the decentralisation of the monetary system and take back full control of your money, the only way you can do that is by avoiding centralised entities that are able to freeze or take your money from you,” he says.
Mr Taihuttu prefers to have full control of his funds and not be limited by daily cash machine withdrawal caps or to answer questions when he sends money. “Freedom is very important to me,” he adds.
Pros and cons of hot and cold wallets
Hot wallet
Pros
- It is convenient
- Much easier to transact and deal with
Cons
- Highly susceptible to online hacking even if the system storage platform is tried and tested
Cold wallet
Pros
- Safer than hot wallet as the medium of storage is primarily offline
Cons
- Generally expensive compared with a hot wallet since it involves buying of physical storage involving hard disks and other storage devices
- It is highly inconvenient for daily and frequent trading
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
SPECS
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Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
More on animal trafficking
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
