Meet The First Crypto Billionaire In Cyprus

Mr. Yusuf Kisa sitting in his red Ferrari 458 Spider.

Who Is Yusuf Kisa?

Mr. Yusuf Kisa is a financial wizard that has had an unrivaled impact on the TRNC’s economy. — he is the owner of the Yeni Bakis Gazetesi, the popular local newspaper, and WebTV in Northern Cyprus. 

Mr. Kisa is not only a president of GIFA Holding Ltd but a successful investor who made his first million in the 1990s after bought and sold the bakery in Northern London, where he first worked a part-time job delivering loaves of bread to customers during his university years, in the UK. Kisa expanded the business and had signed contracts with big companies such as Heathrow Airport, supplying them with over 35,000 loaves on a daily basis. 

GIFA Holding Ltd's President Mr. Yusuf Kisa.

Mr. Yusuf Kisa was born in Cyprus in 1977, the youngest of three siblings. At the age of 6, he moved to the United Kingdom with his family, where he later finished school and graduated from university. Never could his family believe that he would someday become one of the most successful and wealthiest businessmen in Cyprus.

At the age of 27, Mr. Yusuf Kisa began his financial career in Russia and later France. After just 10 months, his business in Moscow alone generated more than €25 million ($29.7 million).

The total profits made by all businesses together had a staggering about €300 million ($357 million). However, for Yusuf Kisa, this was not a point to stop or slow down. He set on expanding the business franchises and opening more offices, reaching out even to Poland. 

Eventually, Kisa decided to return to his homeland Cyprus, a country that was in need of economic development and recognition. He established his consulting business in Pyla, a village in Larnaca located within the United Nations buffer zone. His new financial consultancy office employed over 200 staff and grew to gross a remarkable turnover of €2 billion ($2.4 billion). 

The business offered every type of financial advice, product, and service on the market. Of course, the financial guru Yusuf Kisa had strategic reasoning behind locating his business in Pyla. “The decision I took was based on the fact that Northern Cyprus is not recognized by any country apart from Turkey,” he said, “The Republic of Cyprus the south is recognized by the world, and Pyla is under the guidance of the UN, so I could trade freely with every part of the world.”

When asked when he will slow down, Yusuf Kisa modestly replied, “Never I suppose.” As a result of his success to date, GIFA, Inc. is now the second Turkish company to enter the US Stock Exchange and is rapidly growing into a financial phenomenon.