Floating Pacific Island Is In the Works With Its Own Government, Cryptocurrency (cnbc.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Nathalie Mezza-Garcia is a political scientist turned "seavangelesse" -- her term for an evangelist in favor of living off the grid -- and on the ocean. Mezza-Garcia spoke with CNBC's Matthew Taylor about what she sees as the trouble with governments, and why she believes tech startups should head to Tahiti. This seavangelesse is a researcher for the Blue Frontiers and Seasteading Institute's highly-anticipated Floating Island Project. The project is a pilot program in partnership with the government of French Polynesia, which will see 300 homes built on an island that runs under its own governance, using a cryptocurrency called Varyon.

"Once we can see how this first island works, we will have a proof of concept to plan for islands to house climate refugees," she said. The project is funded through philanthropic donations via the Seasteading Institute and Blue Frontiers, which sells tokens of the cryptocurrency Varyon. The pilot island is expected to be completed by 2022 and cost up to $50 million. As well as offering a home for the displaced, the self-contained islands are designed to function as business centers that are beyond the influence of government regulation.

Comments

Have they forgotten the purpose of government?

[Pollux]

"If you don't want to live under a particular government," she said, "people will be able to just take their house and float away to another island."

I think this organization does not quite understand the primary purpose of government: to provide protection of life, liberty, and property. Does this self-governing island have that ability? Who will citizens turn to if someone is murdered on their island? Or if someone invades their island? Or sinks it? Or if power fails? Food supplies fail? Water supplies fail? Currency becomes destabilized?

I think I'll stick with my own home country, thank-you-very-much. Sure, they're far from perfect, but at least I know they can provide for me the securities I need.

Waste of money, energy

[archer, the]

It would be better to spend the money replacing existing fossil fuel generation with renewable generation, and there's no point in switching to a monetary system that consumes 7 GW producing new money. Yes, there will be climate refugees, but it's cheaper to build a home on solid ground. Unless you really want your house floating around in a cat 4 or cat 5 hurricane...

This is NOT autonomy.

[phayes]

As they will be setting up under French jurisdiction, they will be subservient to French laws and protections.

France already lets many islands in Polynesia govern themselves -- as long as they don't have any impact on other islands & generally respect french laws so if it actually comes to pass this will be generally more of the same.

There are islands in Polynesia where no non-inhabitant is allowed to stay the night. One in particular is about a 2 hour boat trip from Bora Bora. -- The islanders want to keep their culture pure but appreciate the tourist money.

Another island not too far away saw a few boatloads of Gendarmes come ashore about 10 years ago to put an end to another society that was "attempting to return to their polynesian values" and were treating the women as chattel so there are limits and the french Government will not hesitate to intervene if they judge it necessary.

Nothing new here...

Re:government regulation?

[careysub]

And that's not the only one. The is also the "Republic of Minerva".

Two key differences, it is not "beyond the influence of government regulation" since it is explicitly part of Frencb Polynesia which is in turn actually part of France. Some interesting points in the Wikipedia article about French Polynesia:

"Political life in French Polynesia has been marked by great instability since the mid-2000s"

Always a good sign... and

"Despite a local assembly and government, French Polynesia is not in a free association with France... As a French overseas collectivity, the local government has no competence in justice, university education, security and defense. Services in these areas are directly provided and administered by the Government of France, including the National Gendarmerie (which also polices rural and border areas in European France), and French military forces. The collectivity government retains control over primary and secondary education, health, town planning, and the environment. The highest representative of the State in the territory is the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia"

Overseas Collectivities are integral parts of France and the supreme local power is the French High Commissioner, and its ultimate head of state is President of France Emmanuel Macron.

So the notion that this little project will be "beyond the influence of government regulation" is delusional (or else pure hype).

But hey! It is being funded with an ICO! What could go wrong with that?

My projection: the only thing floating here will be the money people invest in the cryptocurrency which will float away.

In other news you can still send money to Mars One to see a colony be not built on Mars. Mars One really missed the boat (err... spaceship) in not creating the chance to invest in the new Martian cryptocurrency. But that may be coming if, their gullible (err... optimistic) contributors have dried up.