BlockSpeak 11 – What’s it like to be a Bitcoin whale?
BlockSpeak 11 has a special guest this week and somebody who has the initials H.E. in front of his name, so please be introduced to His Excellency Kurram Shroff, a so-called Bitcoin Whale, one of the biggest fish in the crypto sea.
Shroff is a likable fellow and prefers to be one of the civilians so he asks for the His Excellency moniker to be dropped when spoken to. So, it’s Shroff all the way from this point.
Shroff was interviewed under lockdown from his apartment in Dubai where we watched the sun set behind him as dusk intervened on another Covid day. Speaking from the balcony, Shroff has suffered huge losses in Dubai, losing a billion dollars from his $3 billion Real Estate portfolio, but nothing seems to faze this man.
Presumably the world of Bitcoin investing has been very kind to him when he can just shrug off a $2 billion loss, but perhaps that’s the ocean whales live in; a very different one to most people on this planet.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to whale investing and it’s difficult to discern whether Shroff talks the talk or walks the walk. He could be anybody, but who knows in crypto?
The conversation moves away from his personal losses and on to the subject of cryptocurrencies themselves. As a self-confessed early adopter, this whale has surfed the waves of volatility for the past few years and he has an ear for a good story and one in particular will draw your eyes from your body and wipe the lice clean out of your hair.
The life of a Bitcoin whale seems to be a chilled place to soak if Shroff is anything to go by. Who cares about Dubai Real Estate losses of billions. Life is going swimmingly for Shroff.
Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.
