A blockchain firm wants to build a smart cryptocurrency city in the Nevada desert as the adoption of digital currencies continues to rise
Blockchain incubator and investment firm Blockchains LLC has revealed its plans to build a smart cryptocurrency city in the Nevada desert east of Reno. The smart city would allow the use of cryptocurrencies for payments of goods and services and store records on the blockchain.
In an interview with Associated Press this weekend, CEO Jeffrey Berns revealed he is already in talks with the state of Nevada to allow him to set up a local government on the 67,000 acres Blockchains LLC owns in Storey County.
If the state approves the petition, Blockchains LLC would be allowed to operate as an innovation area, allowing companies in the tech sector to innovate and thrive. According to the report, “Blockchains LLC envisions a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online footprint—financial statements, medical records and personal data—on blockchain”.
Berns wants Nevada to amend its laws to allow innovation zones to spring up, where companies would have powers similar to county governments. The companies would have the power to create court systems, impose taxes and build infrastructure. They also want to make land and water management decisions in the innovation zone.
According to Berns, the current government setup isn’t ideal for creating a community ideal for cryptocurrencies, blockchain and other innovative technologies. He added that there should be a place where people are allowed to start from scratch and do things unconventionally.
Blockchains LLC purchased the land in January 2018 for $170 million. At the time, Berns said the proposed city would include a content creation studio, blockchain campus, residential properties and an e-sports arena.
The CEO intends to build 15,000 homes in the cryptocurrency city within 75 years. Currently, residential properties aren’t permitted on the land, limiting them to developing only 3,500 homes at the moment.
The prospect of an innovative city has so far been met with intrigue and scepticism from the state lawmakers. While the crypto city legislation is yet to be formally filed or opened for public hearings, most lawmakers are excited at the prospect of diversifying Nevada’s tourism-dependent economy.