Lagos, Portugal — Meet at the Bam Bam Beach bitcoin bar on an uncrowded beach in southwestern Portugal.
To get there, past boat harbors, seaside hotels and apartment buildings, park near quiet seafood restaurants, and walk the boardwalk across the dunes.A yellow bitcoin flag flutters in the wind. A conversation about cryptocurrencies and decentralized future streams.
“People are always wondering when to buy and when to sell,” said Didi Taihuttu, a Dutch investor who moved to town this summer and is one of the owners of Bam Bam. “We will do our best to solve it.”
Another bar regular, Katherine Bestandig, who was sitting on a nearby sandy beach, said, “If you have the guts, everything is possible.”
Nearly 150 crypto-advocate bars and communities around the town of Lagos are bubbles of optimism in what has come to be known as “crypto winter.” Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether crashed this summer, and cryptocurrency companies like experimental bank Celsius Network declared bankruptcy. Worries about the global economy have driven down the value of risky assets. Thousands of investors were hurt by the crash. Bitcoin’s price, which peaked above $68,000 last year, remains down more than 70%.
But in this Portuguese seaside idyll, faith in cryptocurrencies has not faded. Every Friday, his 20 or so visitors from Europe and beyond gather at his Bam Bam to share his unwavering belief in digital currency. Their buoyancy and cheers persist not only in Portugal, but also in other cryptocurrency hubs around the world, such as Puerto Rico and Cyprus.
“We don’t sell,” cryptocurrency trader Paulo Esteban said over lunch at a restaurant in the Portuguese seaside town of Ericeira. His crypto holdings are down about 80% from their peak, but he added that he is “investing more.”
In Europe, Portugal stands out as one of the largest hubs for cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts. Unlike Italy and France, the government does not tax cryptocurrency profits, which has attracted many crypto enthusiasts to the country. It has the advantages of good weather, low cost of living, and comfortable living. Portuguese real estate firm Vanguard Properties said it has sold at least 10 of her luxury homes to “virtual families” since last year. (Sales were previously reported Sifted.eu.)
Seaside towns like Ericeira and Lagos show that shops and restaurants are accepting digital currencies as payment in Bitcoin. The capital, Lisbon, is home to cryptocurrency startups such as Utrust, a crypto payment platform, and Immunefi, a company that identifies security vulnerabilities in decentralized networks.
“Portugal should be the Silicon Valley of Bitcoin,” said Tyhutu. “It has all the ingredients.”
However, the Portuguese government may disrupt the country’s status as a cryptocurrency hub. In May, Finance Minister Fernando Medina said the government was considering taxing crypto earnings like regular income and “will legislate on this issue.” A decision could be made next month when Portugal announces its annual budget.
The Treasury Department declined to comment on the plan.
For now, Portugal is popular with optimists and amateur traders who use their cryptocurrency investments to travel and try to live without traditional jobs. based in Portugal, using the money earned when the value of the digital currency skyrocketed in .
Taihuttu, 44, has inspired many in Lagos to visit Bam Bam bar. In 2017, he sold almost all of his belongings in the Netherlands to invest in Bitcoin. At the time, the price of a single Bitcoin was around $900, now it’s around $19,000. With his wife and his three daughters, who have had no formal schooling since 2017, he has since traveled to 40 countries, documenting every step on his social media. They called themselves the “Bitcoin Family”.
As news media covered his family story, Taihuttu’s social media following skyrocketed, and he became an influencer and source of investment advice. A documentary film crew has followed him on and off for the past 18 months. This summer he settled in Portugal and quickly became something of an ambassador to the crypto scene.
He has a goal of turning Meia Praia, the beach where Bam Bam is located, into a ‘Bitcoin Beach’. He buys properties to create a community nearby for his fellow believers.
“You’ve proven that you can run anywhere in the world, even if it’s just one region,” said Taihutu, over a Jack Daniel’s and a Coke. He had shoulder-length black hair and wore a tank top with prominent tans and tattoos (including the Bitcoin symbol on his forearm).
Ms. Vestandig was among those whom Ms. Taihutu drew to Portugal.
The German native said she and her family have been traveling since 2020. They have been investing in Ether and other cryptocurrencies for the past few years to earn enough to cover their travel expenses, she said.
Ether’s value has dropped by about 60% over the past year, which Vestandig said was painful. Although she has cut back on her food and lodging costs, she continues to invest heavily in cryptocurrency and says her family has enough money to continue with her current lifestyle. said.
“We sold the house, the car, everything,” she said. “We are trying to connect with other crypto-minded people.”
Almost all of Bam Bam have been scammed in events like the collapse of Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Mt. They had stories of being hit and losing money.
If cryptocurrency prices don’t recover, “many of them will have to go back to work again,” said Clinton Donnelly, an American tax attorney who specializes in cryptocurrencies, of some who gathered at Bang Bang. Told.
Still, Donnelly and other bar regulars said their belief in cryptocurrencies remained unwavering.
Thomas Rössler, wearing a black Bitcoin shirt and drinking beer “inspired” by the currency, is with his wife and two young children as they decide whether to move from Germany to Portugal. said he came to He invested in Bitcoin for the first time in his 2014 and recently increased his investment further by selling a small rental apartment in Germany.
Rosler said he was concerned about the depreciation of cryptocurrencies, but he is confident the market will recover. Moving to Portugal could lower taxes and give families the chance to buy affordable properties in a warmer climate, he said. They came to the bar to learn from others who had moved.
“We haven’t met many people living like this,” Ressler said. He then purchased another drink and paid with bitcoin.