Triip Wanted to Pay You in Crypto to Travel: Here’s Why That Idea Didn’t Work

Imagine a world where you could get paid in crypto just for taking a vacation. That was the bold promise of Triip, a travel startup from Southeast Asia that blended tourism, local guides, and blockchain innovation into one eye-catching model. At its peak, Triip claimed to operate in over 100 countries, offered unique local experiences, and even received recognition from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

It sounded revolutionary. The idea wasn’t just about booking hotels or flights, it was about changing how the world travels, all while supporting sustainable tourism and earning rewards. But today, that bold dream has quietly disappeared. The platform is still online, but activity has slowed to a crawl. Its token, once central to the system, is now worthless. And its founder? He’s moved on to something entirely different.

This is the story of how a powerful idea collided with the hard truths of the travel and crypto industries, leaving behind an important lesson for entrepreneurs everywhere.

What Was Triip and Why Did It Get So Much Attention?

Triip was founded by Hai Ho, a Vietnamese entrepreneur with a long track record of building tech-focused businesses. Before starting Triip, Ho had already worked on payment systems, social networks, and other tech products. This background helped him think big when it came to combining tourism with digital tools.

Triip’s original mission was simple but powerful: to make tourism more sustainable. The company created a platform where local people could list and lead tours, giving travelers a chance to explore cities in a more personal and environmentally friendly way. Instead of big tour buses and crowded sites, Triip offered authentic, guided experiences that highlighted local culture.

The idea caught on, at least in the press. Triip was featured in CNN, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and was even recognized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of a global push for ethical and sustainable travel practices. Its model helped support local economies, especially in places that were often overlooked by large tourism companies.

According to public interviews and company data, Triip operated in over 100 countries, partnered with 6,000 local guides, and offered travelers access to 29 million rooms through integrations with larger travel platforms. For a young startup, these numbers helped paint a picture of fast growth and broad impact.

“We wanted to pioneer business models that advance sustainable travel for the world.”

Hai Ho YSEALI Academy

But even with the spotlight shining bright, the numbers behind the scenes told a different story.

A Shark Tank Appearance That Didn’t Lead to Millions

As Triip grew, it also made its way onto Shark Tank Vietnam, the country’s version of the hit investment show. Hai Ho pitched his company in front of a panel of wealthy investors, hoping to secure funding that could help Triip scale even faster.

However, while the TV appearance gave the company a major visibility boost, no deal was actually finalized during the show. This is not uncommon, as many startups that appear on Shark Tank around the world gain attention but fail to close funding.

Even though Triip did not receive a televised investment, something important happened later. In December 2021, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Namaste Coral Park, a Vietnamese tourism business that had already been backed by Shark Viet, one of the show’s judges. This post-show partnership allowed Triip to provide Namaste with access to its technology, including booking systems, management tools, and a distribution network that reached 2,000 business-to-business (B2B) travel brands.

This deal was presented as a step forward in promoting sustainable tourism, aligning with Triip’s core values. However, despite the initial promise of this partnership, no follow-up announcements were ever made about its financial performance or long-term results. Like many post-show arrangements, it may have looked good on paper, but it didn’t seem to change the startup’s direction in a significant way.

Triip Tried Something Bold: Paying Users in Crypto

After struggling to gain momentum with its tour-based platform, Triip made a bold pivot. Instead of focusing purely on bookings and tours, the company shifted toward a blockchain model, hoping that this tech-forward approach would unlock new growth.

In 2019, Triip launched its own cryptocurrency called TriipMiles, or TIIM. The idea was to create a token that travelers could earn and use within the Triip ecosystem. Users would be rewarded for making eco-friendly travel choices, such as walking instead of driving, or sharing their travel behavior data with the platform.

The plan was ambitious. TIIM was meant to eliminate middlemen, allow direct transactions between travelers and service providers, and create a closed-loop travel economy where users earned and spent tokens entirely within Triip’s world. It was also meant to help reduce marketing costs, as loyal users could be incentivized to promote the platform.

This move got the attention of blockchain communities and investors, as it represented a unique use case for cryptocurrency in the tourism space. However, this shift also introduced a new risk: Triip’s financial health would now depend on the value and usage of a digital token, something that is notoriously volatile and difficult to control.

How the TIIM Token Collapsed

At the height of the crypto boom in late 2021, the TIIM token reached an all-time high of about $0.15 USD. This price spike happened around the same time that popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were hitting record highs, which suggests that TIIM’s price was driven more by market speculation than by usage on the platform.

When the crypto market crashed in 2022, TIIM’s value dropped sharply and never recovered.

As of July 2025, the situation is bleak:

The current price is only $0.000010. That’s less than a fraction of a penny.

Even worse, the 24-hour trading volume is zero, which means that nobody is buying or selling the token anymore. The circulating supply is also reported as zero, meaning that while there may be 400 million tokens created, none are actually in public use.

This collapse signals that the blockchain pivot failed completely. The token is now considered inactive, and it no longer holds any value for the company or its users.

Did Triip Ever Make Money?

While Triip’s vision was bold, its revenue numbers remained small.

In total, the company raised $500,000 in funding across two publicized investment rounds. Its highest valuation was $10 million in 2019, during a time when it was still transitioning into the crypto space.

However, one of the only confirmed revenue figures comes from as far back as 2014. That year, Triip reported just $20,000 in gross merchandise volume, the total value of all bookings on the platform. This number, combined with reports that the startup was “running out of cash,” shows that it struggled with user adoption and monetization right from the start.

There are no records of the company ever turning a profit, and no public filings about its financial performance after 2020. In the end, despite its media presence and strategic partnerships, Triip failed to achieve commercial success.

A Branding Problem That Didn’t Help

One often-overlooked problem that hurt Triip’s chances was its name.

The name “Triip” is very close to other much larger travel services, especially Trip.com, a global travel giant with billions in revenue. It also gets confused with Trippie, an American travel app that focuses on airport navigation.

This overlap caused confusion in search engines, making it hard for users to find Triip’s official website. For a tech company that depended on visibility and traffic, this branding issue may have had serious effects. Being buried in search results can limit sign-ups, bookings, and trust, especially for first-time users.

For startups, a unique and searchable name is not just helpful. It’s often critical to survival.

What Happened to the Founder?

While the Triip project faded away, its founder Hai Ho did not.

In 2022, he co-founded a new company called Alternō Labs, which focuses on solving problems in renewable energy. The company is developing “sand battery” technology, a method for storing heat energy in sand that can later be used for power.

Alternō is part of the growing field of climate technology, which looks to address global energy and sustainability issues. Hai Ho’s move from travel and blockchain into clean energy shows a clear pivot, one that aligns with his continued interest in creating systems that support long-term sustainability.

The timing of his move also tells a story. As the TIIM token collapsed and Triip’s blockchain model failed, Hai Ho quietly transitioned into a completely different industry, signaling that he had moved on from Triip for good.

What Can We Learn From Triip’s Story?

Triip is not the kind of startup that failed overnight. Instead, it slowly faded over several years. Its website is still online. There were no big news stories or public closure announcements. It just quietly stopped being active.

But the lessons it leaves behind are valuable.

One major lesson is that a compelling mission and strong media presence are not enough. Triip’s story about sustainable travel was inspiring, but it struggled to turn that story into a business.

Another lesson is about the danger of depending on unstable technologies. Triip shifted its model to rely on crypto rewards just as the market was peaking. When the crash came, its core product lost all value.

Finally, the story of Triip reminds us that execution matters more than vision. Even with global partnerships, smart leadership, and a unique idea, a startup must prove it can make money, attract users, and survive change.

Final Thoughts

Triip was a rare kind of startup. It was born from a big idea, one that blended sustainability, local culture, and cutting-edge technology. It captured media attention and investor interest. And it made people believe in a new way to travel.

But a big idea is not enough on its own. Triip never found a way to grow its user base, make steady money, or adapt when things got tough. Its crypto-based model collapsed when the market shifted, and its business faded quietly into the background.

Today, Triip is a case study in ambition without traction. A reminder that while the future belongs to bold thinkers, it also rewards those who can execute consistently and respond to change.

And maybe, just maybe, getting paid to travel was always a little too good to be true.