A huge tract of land in the Nevada desert has become the subject of local intrigue since an unknown company, Blockchains LLC, bought it for $170 million in cash this year. Lawyer and cryptocurrency millionaire Jeffrey Burns, who owns the company, went around his property last week on a Polaris ATV.
The 56-year-old millionaire dreams of building a city in the desert in which all systems will work on the blockchain. The city will be home to a high-tech research center, a college and an electronic gaming arena.
Burns was attracted to Nevada for its tax incentives and lack of income taxes. Perhaps his ambitions are simply a waste of time, but he has a huge advantage - he is spending his own money. The land, project and 70 employees cost Burns $300 million, and the purchase of 67,000 abandoned acres is a property risk Burns took to pursue his dream.
Burns has no plans to become a real estate tycoon or get rich by selling it. He promises to transfer all decision-making powers for the project and 90 percent of any dividends to a corporate structure that will be managed by residents, employees and future investors. The structure, which he calls a “distributed collaborative organization,” is expected to also operate on the blockchain.
Burns has been able to win over local officials who are committed to economic development. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval spoke about Burns' project at an official event attended by Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla. Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada, which has been called the largest building in the world, is surrounded by Burns Land. Companies such as Google, Apple and Switch also own property in the industrial park surrounded by Burns' land.
This week, Burns entered into a memorandum of understanding with NV Energy, one of the state's major energy companies, which will manage energy transmission via blockchain.
Story County, where all this is located, has about 4,000 residents. Until recently, the county was known only for its silver mining history and its expensive brothels, including the one owned by the county governor. The same governor, Lance Gilman, bought the land surrounding the brothel and turned it into an industrial park, now home to Tesla and Google.
Burns expects construction to begin no earlier than 2019, when the project is ready and approved by the county..
Burns earned part of his capital from the successful and timely sale of the ETH cryptocurrency, which now allows him to independently finance his dream project. Burns plans to make ether part of the system of his project, each resident will have an Ethereum address, which they will use to vote and store their personal data.
According to economictimes.indiatimes.com
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