How the Ultra-Wealthy Are Using Bitcoin to Fund Their Yacht Upgrades and Cannes Trips

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Finance

What to know:

  • Rich people are diving into the world of crypto like it’s a hot tub at a Cannes after-party, using DeFi platforms to nab credit lines without having to sell their precious digital toys.
  • Companies like Cometh are the fancy tour guides for these financial jet-setters, helping them navigate the wild jungle of decentralized finance with assets like bitcoin and ether. Who needs a bank when you can have a yacht?
  • Sure, DeFi loans can be quicker and more secretive than a celebrity marriage, but they come with a side of volatility that could leave you crying into your champagne if things go south.

Picture this: an investor with a Swiss chalet and a Miami beach pad, raking in around $10 million. But what they really need is a line of credit to hit the slopes in St. Moritz, attend the Cannes Film Festival, and do some serious yacht upgrades. Priorities, am I right?

In the old-school finance world, they might waltz into their bank and secure a loan against their assets, but if most of your riches are tied up in crypto, good luck with that!

It turns out, there’s a whole squad of ultra-wealthy folks who struck gold in the crypto boom. A recent survey revealed that crypto millionaires ballooned to 241,700 in 2025-a 40% jump! Apparently, everyone wants a piece of that digital pie.

So how do these crypto kings and queens fund their extravagant lifestyles? Traditional banks would rather not deal with crypto, and selling off their digital assets is a no-go. Enter the world of sophisticated DeFi lending strategies, according to Jerome de Tychey of Cometh, which is basically like giving a financial makeover to old-school lending.

For the crypto-savvy, it’s as easy as tossing some ether onto a lending platform like Aave and pulling out stablecoins. But for your average Joe who got rich by just holding on, it’s a bit like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded-confusing and frustrating.

“This stuff is still too complicated for the average person,” de Tychey lamented at the CfC St Moritz crypto conference. “But don’t worry, we’ve got the rich family offices covered.”

Day-to-day, these wealthy clients often use collateral loans, also known as Lombard loans, to secure cash against their assets without selling anything. It’s like getting a loan while keeping your cake and eating it too-delicious!

These clients usually swim in wealth worth tens or even hundreds of millions. The goal? Keep their assets cozy while living lavishly with the lowest interest rates possible. Sounds easy, right?

De Tychey, also the mastermind behind the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC), is spicing things up with DeFi strategies that could involve bitcoin on Aave and USDC on Morpho. It’s like mixing cocktails with a hint of crypto.

DeFi vs TradFi loans

Borrowing against crypto assets comes with perks, like lightning-fast processing. A bitcoin-backed loan could be ready faster than you can say “I’ll take a yacht!”-in just 30 seconds, compared to the week-long wait at traditional banks.

Plus, there are no pesky credit checks or tax returns involved-DeFi is like the cool kid at school who doesn’t care who you are. Anonymity for the win!

But hold up! There are risks. If the crypto market takes a nosedive, your collateral might get liquidated faster than your last bad haircut. Can you say, “yikes”?

Still, it all boils down to getting that sweet cash flow through crypto assets without dealing with banks that don’t recognize your shiny digital treasures.

‘Tradfi-cation of DeFi’

With a shiny MiCA license in France, Cometh is plotting ways to sprinkle DeFi magic onto stocks and bonds using ISIN codes. Because why not have your cake and eat it too?

To tap into debt using Tesla shares, those ISIN codes need to be tucked away in a special fund. Think of it as the VIP section for stocks.

“We’re looking at these fancy approaches through private debt products that anyone with a title account can access. It’s basically a ‘tradfi-cation’ of DeFi,” de Tychey explained, probably while sipping a piña colada on a yacht somewhere.

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2026-01-25 19:19