VSt’s a project that seems straight out of a science fiction novel. In 2023, says Le Parisien, new inhabitants should settle on a small island in the Pacific, belonging to the Republic of Vanuatu, brought together by a single common point: their pronounced interest in cryptocurrencies. Quite recently, a discreet group of investors actually obtained authorization from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu to colonize this small piece of land located in the north of New Caledonia. His goal: to make this island a “home” for the “crypto community”. The project, meanwhile, was baptized “Satoshi Island”, in homage to Satoshi Nakamoto, pseudonym of the alleged creator, in 2008, of the very first Bitcoin.
On the island of Lataro, 300 hectares, the first works have already begun. Small houses with a futuristic look are being built, and will soon be assembled on site. Major construction sites are also planned, in order to provide access to running water and electricity in an area where, for the time being, there are no permanent buildings. Eventually, the promoters of this vast project hope to accommodate 21,000 residents.
A future tax haven
The island of Lataro was obviously not chosen at random. Like the rest of the territory of the Republic of Vanuatu, it has no “tax on profits, dividends or income for companies or individuals, nor any taxes on capital gains or on heritage,” explain the officials of Satoshi Island. Particularly poor, Vanuatu derives a good part of its income thanks to the sale of plots of land on its territory, explains Le Parisien.
For lovers of cryptocurrency and NFTs, the initiative is therefore a godsend: “You have to see it as a laboratory or a testing ground for the economies of tomorrow, in particular with a cadastre of land ownership established in Non-fungible Token (NFT)”, explains Michael Amar, a well-known entrepreneur in this small environment. In the kingdom of Bitcoin, it will indeed be necessary to forget the good old notarial deeds of ownership: the title deeds will be exclusively digital. On the other hand, the visa necessary to settle on the island will have to be paid in real dollars. It will cost 130,000, or just over 110,000 euros.
Autonomy and decentralization
Many questions remain. Such a territory, if it were to actually see the light of day, wouldn’t it risk becoming a rogue state conducive to the least recommendable financial procedures? Cryptocurrency proponents say no. On the island, daily life will simply be made up of daily economic exchanges in cryptocurrencies. For the rest, explains Le Parisien, it will simply be futuristic houses and solar panels.
“This project corresponds to the idea of decentralization dear to the cryptocurrency community, which swears by Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) even in collective decision-making and public governance”, adds Michael Amar. Charge to the first inhabitants of “Satoshi Island” to demonstrate the viability and honesty of such a project.
