During the Bitcoin Pizza Day Meetup on May 22, 2025 in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, GCash Vice President and GCrypto Head Luis Buenaventura discussed the evolving financial strategies involving cryptocurrencies, especially $BTC.
He particularly highlighted the “Buy, Borrow, Die” strategy, typically employed by the ultra-wealthy, but applied it in the context of Bitcoin.
“Buy, borrow, die, but do it with Bitcoin. That is the main message that I want to take part in for you guys from here, so hopefully you will remember some of that.”
Luis Buenaventura, Vice President and Head of GCrypto, GCash
What is the “Buy, Borrow, Die” Strategy?
Buenaventura explained a wealth-building strategy commonly used by ultra-high-net-worth individuals called “Buy, Borrow, Die.” The strategy is a tax-efficient wealth management approach to preserve and grow their assets while minimizing tax liabilities.
It involves three main steps:
- Buy: Individuals invest in appreciating assets such as stocks, real estate, or collectibles, which typically increase in value over time, often without immediate tax consequences.
- Borrow: Rather than selling these assets and incurring capital gains taxes, they borrow against them. Since loans are not considered taxable income, this allows access to liquidity without triggering taxes.
- Die: Upon their death, the assets are passed on to heirs with a stepped-up cost basis, effectively erasing the capital gains that accumulated during the original owner’s lifetime.
This strategy allows the wealthy to sustain their lifestyle, grow their wealth, and reduce their tax burden legally.
How to Do It With $BTC?
Buenaventura illustrated that instead of leaving money in the bank, which loses purchasing power due to inflation, wealthy individuals buy appreciating assets.
Traditionally this is land, but $BTC functions similarly because of its scarcity and increasing value over time, he argued.
“The worst thing you can do is leave it in the bank… Inflation will slowly eat away at your ₱100 million… The buying power of your ₱100 million gets less and less every year… I guess this was a really important realization for me recently, because I realized that this buy-borrow-die strategy actually can work for average people. But it is not houses that we should be buying; it is Bitcoin.”
Luis Buenaventura, Vice President and Head of GCrypto, GCash
Like land, $BTC is also scarce, with only 21 million to ever exist. The limit is built into its code and cannot be changed. Moreover, investors also do not need to buy a whole $BTC, as they can own a fraction.
Accordingly, Buenaventura noted that instead of selling $BTC, which would trigger capital gains taxes, investors should choose to borrow against their holdings. This strategy allows them to unlock liquidity without giving up their long-term investment.
He explained that just like a landowner might use real estate as collateral for a loan, $BTC holders can use platforms like Ledn, BlockFi, Coinbase, Binance, or decentralized finance protocols like Aave to post their $BTC as collateral and borrow stablecoins or fiat currency.
The GCrypto chief added that these crypto-backed loans provide access to cash while preserving upside potential, letting holders keep their Bitcoin and avoid taxable events from selling.
“So your borrow could be about 4% or 5% per annum… You could pay off the loan if you wanted… Or do not. Do not pay it back. You can just keep paying the interest if you want… In which case, you just enjoy the fact that you now have ₱10 million that you can spend.”
Luis Buenaventura, Vice President and Head of GCrypto, GCash
Lastly, he said that when a $BTC holder passes away, their heirs can also inherit the $BTC. If there is an outstanding loan against it, the debt can either be managed, refinanced, or settled by the heirs, but the key is that the $BTC itself does not need to be sold. This means the original investment remains intact, and capital gains taxes are never triggered.
“The dying part is when you die… You can actually give the land [$BTC] to your kids… Kasama doon iyong loan, right? They can continue to pay the loan themselves or not… Either way, the land [$BTC] continues to go up in value over time.”
Luis Buenaventura, Vice President and Head of GCrypto, GCash
Why Bitcoin?
According to Buenaventura, $BTC is the top choice for its scarcity and value preservation because it is like a digital land. That just as the rich buy land because it is scarce and goes up in value over time, $BTC is also scarce and is designed to increase in value, especially in an inflationary environment.
“Bitcoin is for the people who want to plan longer, and Bitcoin is for people who actually are thinking of what their life should look like 20 years from now, 30 years from now. I wouldn’t say that for Ethereum, necessarily. I think Ethereum is great, but I think that Ethereum is for a very different purpose… Bitcoin is for people who want to save and Bitcoin is for people who want to grow their wealth.”
Luis Buenaventura, Vice President and Head of GCrypto, GCash
BitPinas x GCrypto Bitcoin Pizza Day 2025
Held in Taguig City, the 2025 celebration was co-organized by BitPinas and GCrypto, GCash’s crypto platform. The event gathered over 200 crypto enthusiasts and featured panels, pizza, community games like “Satoshi Quest,” with sponsor booths offering rewards and education on Bitcoin, restaking, stablecoins, and responsible investing.
Bitcoin Pizza Day is celebrated every May 22 to commemorate the first real-world transaction using Bitcoin in 2010, when developer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 $BTC. Today, that amount would be worth billions, making the event a symbol of the cryptocurrency’s early adoption and long-term value growth.
This article is published on BitPinas: How ‘Buy, Borrow, Die’ Turns Bitcoin Into a Wealth-Building Tool for Everyone
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