Every year during the climbing season, people from around the world attempt scaling Mount Everest. In one such successful endeavor, crypto entrepreneur Dadvan Yousuf made it to the top of the world on May 20, 2024. On reaching the summit, Yousuf hoisted the orange Bitcoin flag, which he said symbolizes freedom and independence. In a recent conversation with blocmates, he exclaimed,
“It was a surreal experience and I'm glad I did it.”
It took Yousuf fifty days to reach the summit. A few days before he began his expedition, Bitcoin went on to peak at $73k. Drawing parallels, he posted, “Simultaneously with Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs, the flag has landed at an all-time high.” Bitcoin’s price did not sustain around its peak for a long time. Right after scripting history, it succumbed to its correction phase and has been oscillating in the $60k-$70k bracket of late.
As soon as the 23-year-old entrepreneur posted about his climb, congratulatory messages along the lines of “Proof of Work” started ushering in. MicroStrategy executive and Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor chipped in with a “Bitcoin has reached the top of Mount Everest” remark, while other users excitedly declared “Bitcoin hits an All-Time High in Nepal,” “Bitcoin summited Everest,” and “Bitcoin is everywhere.”
Yousuf claims that he has become the first Iraqi of Kurdish descent to scale the summit of the world’s highest mountain. The latest climb was the entrepreneur’s maiden attempt. He told blocmates that he “almost died'' several times and even fell off the Hillary Step - a nearly vertical rock face that is considered to be the most technically difficult part of the climb - twice. In fact, he also “nearly lost” his fingers due to frostbite. Nevertheless, his sherpas always stepped up to his rescue. Expressing gratitude, he said,
“I wouldn't have made it without my two sherpas.”
A Mission Driven Climb
Born in Iraq, Yousuf fled to Switzerland with his family at the age of three. As a refugee, he grew up in poverty and wanted to change the tides in his favor. He is said to have sold his toys to buy Bitcoin when he was eleven years. As the price of Bitcoin kept rising, his bags kept inflating. That ultimately made him one of the youngest multi-millionaires.
Yousuf did not just climb Everest to create a personal record. His climb was driven by the mission of promoting financial literacy and making it more accessible to people from a disadvantaged background. When asked if he sees the disparity in financial educational access narrowing down with time, he told blocmates that he currently does not see "successes" being achieved. There’s still a long way to go before accessibility and equitable adoption get more refined. Elaborating on how he would play his part, he said,
“I would like to start by opening a crypto school in northern Iraq, in the autonomous region of Kurdistan.”
Regulatory Ambiguities
This is not the first initiative planned by Yousuf to advance his mission. He established the Dohrnii Academy, a crypto educational platform post-pandemic. DHN was a utility token launched simultaneously for the users of the platform.
In May last year, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority [FINMA] ruled that the platform violated regulations by selling tokens and accepting deposits worth millions from the public without obtaining the necessary license.” It additionally ruled that Yousuf “accepted public deposits as a private individual without authorization.” The regulator went on to issue a cease-and-desist order against the foundation.
Local reports point out that prosecutors in Bern launched criminal proceedings against the entrepreneur for alleged fraud because FINMA had no powers to issue fines or launch criminal proceedings.
As far as the current state of affairs is concerned, Yousuf told blocmates that the foundation was eventually dissolved, but the project continues to live as a DAO, the Dohrnii DAO. He underlined that prosecutors have been investigating him for nearly two years now, but the only thing determined so far pertained to the classification of the token. Yousuf added,
“Well, FINMA said it was a security token, same as the SEC investigations right now with all other major cryptos. That's the fight we all have to go by starting a business in crypto. Regulatory ambiguities always lead to legal problems.”
At one point, users did complain about being scammed, but the DAO has been taking measures - like token buybacks - to mitigate damages. To further support the foundation, Yousuf also privately extended the buyback initiative to include all ICO participants. The entrepreneur has not been actively participating in the project since his resignation, but the buyback move was personally initiated by him as a private investor.
For now, Yousuf does not have plans to climb any other mountain in the future, but firmly believes that access to financial education is a human right and will continue directing his efforts toward it, despite ambiguities, hurdles, and setbacks.
