“Bitcoin Family” changed its security after the recent cryptocurrency

A wave of famous temptations targeting cryptocurrency executives rattled the industry, prompting a quiet security revolution among some of the most visible evangelists.

Didi Tai, the patriarch of the so-called “Bitcoin family,” said he has re-examined the entire family security setup after a series of threats.

Having sold everything he owned in 2017 from home to shoes, Taihuttus has long lived on the outer edge of Crypto ideology by all-in with bitcoin around $900. They travel full time with their three daughters and remain completely banked.

Over the past eight months, families have dumped their hardware wallets in favour of hybrid systems. Parts analog, part digital, seed phrases are encrypted, divided, stored either blockchain-based cryptographic services or hidden in four continents.

“We’ve changed everything,” he told CNBC over a phone call from Phuket, Thailand. “Even if someone holds me at the muzzle, I can’t give them anything more than what’s in my phone wallet. That’s not much.”

CNBC first reported on the family’s unconventional storage system in 2022. This comes when I explained that I’m hiding hardware wallets across multiple continents, ranging from rental apartments in Europe to automated transport units in South America.

Even as they rethink their exposure as physical attacks on crypto holders become more frequent.

This week, Moroccan police arrested a 24-year-old suspect who was suspected of coordinating a series of brutal lures targeting cryptography executives.

One victim, the father of a crypto billionaire, reportedly was detained for days at a home south of Paris, with his finger reportedly being amputated during the ordeal.

In another case earlier this year, French wallet company Ledger and his wife’s co-founder were accused of from their home in central France in a ransom scheme targeting another ledger executive.

Last month in New York, authorities said a 28-year-old Italian tourist was lured and tortured for 17 days by an attacker trying to extract a Bitcoin password.

Common thread: Pursuing cryptographic qualifications that allow for instant, irreversible transfer of virtual assets.

“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the future,” said JP Richardson, CEO of Crypto Wallet Company Exodus. He urged users to choose independent, store large sums of money in their hardware wallets, and take security into their hands by exploring the multi-signature wallet, a setup that institutions normally use for those who hold important assets.

Richardson also recommended spreading funds based on different wallet types and avoiding large balances in hot wallets to reduce risk without sacrificing flexibility.

That increased vulnerability has driven new demand for physical protection with current insurers to provide lures and ransom (K&R) policies tailored to crypto owners.

However, Taihuttu is not waiting for a corporate solution. He chose to fully diversify his personal risk profile, as well as his finances.

Safety has always been a topic of conversation when families prepare to return to Europe from Thailand.

“We’ve talked a lot about it as a family,” Taihotu said. “My kids have read the news too, especially in France, where the CEO’s daughter was mostly lured on the streets.”

Now he said, his daughters are asking the difficult question: What if someone tries to lure us? What is your plan?

The girls only have a small amount of code in their personal wallets, but the family decided to avoid France altogether.

“We’ve become a bit more famous in our niche market, but that niche is now becoming a really big market,” Taihuttu said. “And I think we’ll see more and more of these robbers. Yeah, we’re definitely going to skip France.”

Even in Thailand, Taihotu has recently stopped posting travel updates and filming at home after receiving intrusive messages from strangers who claimed they had identified their location from YouTube Vlogs.

“We stayed in a very beautiful home for six months. Then I started getting emails from people who understood which home it was. They warned me and told me not to leave my child alone,” he said. “So we moved in. And now we’re not filming anything.”

“It’s a strange world at this point,” he said. “So we’re taking our own precautions. As for wallets, we don’t have a complete hardware wallet right now. We’re not using hardware wallets anymore.”

The family’s new system involves splitting one 24-word Bitcoin Seed Phrase (an encryption key that unlocks access to cryptographic holdings) into four sets of six words, each stored in a different geographical location. Some are held digitally through blockchain-based encryption platforms, while others are hand etched by hand on fireproof steel plates using hammers and letter punches, hidden in physical locations on four continents.

“If someone finds 18 out of 24 words, they can’t do anything,” Taihuttu explained.

In addition to that, he adds a layer of personal encryption and exchanges selected words to become an attacker. This method is simple, but effective.

“You just need to remember what you changed,” he said.

Part of the reason for throwing out your hardware wallet is growing distrust of third-party devices, Taihuttu said. Concerns about backdoors and remote access capabilities (such as the controversial update by Ledger in 2023) have led families to abandon their physical hardware completely in favour of encrypted paper and steel backups.

The family still holds the “hot” wallet code, but to implement daily spending and algorithmic trading strategies – these funds are protected by multi-signature approvals, where multiple parties must sign off before running the transaction.

Taihuttus is safe to use – Previously Gnosis Safe – ether Similarly layered setups for other altcoins and Bitcoin stored on centralized platforms such as Bybit.

Approximately 65% ​​of family codes are trapped in cold storage on four continents. Coinbase– Owned Xapo. These facilities may provide physical protection and inheritance services, but Taihuttu said it requires too much trust.

“What if one of those companies goes bankrupt? Can I still have access?” he said. “You’re bringing your capital back to someone else’s hands.”

Instead, Taihuttu holds his own keys – hidden all over the world. He can refill his wallet remotely with new sediments, but to access them you will need at least one international trip, depending on which piece you need to have a seed phrase fragment. He added that the funds are intended as a long-term pension only to access if Bitcoin reaches $1 million.

The shift to multi-party protection goes beyond mere multi-signature. Multi-party Calculation (MPC) has gained traction as a more advanced security model.

Instead of storing private keys in one place, a vulnerability known as “a single point of compromise,” MPC splits the key into encrypted stocks distributed among multiple parties. Transactions can only be passed if these parties’ thresholds have approved and significantly reduce the risk of theft and unauthorized access.

A multi-signature wallet requires several parties to approve a transaction. MPC takes on it further by encrypting and splitting the private key itself, ensuring that one individual does not hold the full key.

This shift comes amid scrutiny of centralized crypto platforms Coinbaserecently disclosed a data breaches affecting tens of thousands of customers.

Taihuttu says 80% of his trades are currently happening on decentralized exchanges like Apex. This is a peer-to-peer platform where users can set up and sell purchase orders without waiving custody of funds, indicating Crypto’s return to its original spirit.

Although he refused to reveal his total holdings, Taihuttu shared his goal, the current bull cycle: a net worth of $100 million, 60% still held in Bitcoin. The rest is like a mix of etheric, layer-1 token Solana, linkSUI, and the number of startups focused on AI and education is increasing. This includes his own platform offering blockchain and life skills courses for children.

Recently, he has also been considering returning from the spotlight.

“Creating content is really my passion, and that’s really something I want to do every day,” he said. “But if it’s not safe for my daughter anymore… I really need to think about them.”

Watch: “Bitcoin Family” tracks monthly cycles to make crypto investment decisions