The world’s first floating nation which will be completely independent and will operate outside all government regulations is set to launch in the Pacific Ocean in 2022.
Interestingly, the floating nation will not use an existing currency, instead, a new cryptocurrency known as ‘Vayron’ will be created for it.
Bankrolled by PayPal founder Peter Thiel, the £37 million ($50 million) project will become a reality with the assistance of the government of Polynesia.
The proposed plan is to provide 300 homes along with a handful of offices, restaurants, hotels and more, built in the Pacific Ocean off the island of Tahiti.
Nathalie Mezza-Garcia, who is a political scientist and researcher for the Floating Island Project at Warwick University, said in an interview that the residents of the islands will be free of ‘fluctuating geopolitical influences and trade issues.’ She also claimed that the floating nation could one day house refugees struck by climate change.
Ms. Mezza-Garcia told CNBC: ‘There is significance to this project being trialed in the Polynesian Islands. This is the region where land is resting on coral and will disappear with rising sea levels.’
‘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 added.
The Seasteading Institute, co-founded by Paypal founder Peter Thiel, spent the past 5 years creating designs for ‘permanent, innovative communities floating at sea.’
Last year, the institute joined up with Blue Frontiers – a startup specializing in building floating islands.
The construction of the island’s structures will use local bamboo, wood, coconut fibre, and recycled plastic and metal. Moreover, all structures will feature ‘green roofs’ covered with vegetation.
The designs are inspired by the rich Polynesian culture. The navigation, in particular, is based on the observation and knowledge of natural elements.
Blue Frontiers released concept images of the project in December 2017.
While referring to the designs, a spokesman for the Seasteading Institute said in a written statement: ‘During several visits to French Polynesia and after getting acquainted with the environment and the local contexts, one thing was sure, the project has to blend into its environment.
‘To achieve this, local environmental characteristics, climate, ecology and cultural context have all been studied and play a major role in the process.
‘The project, however, doesn’t only want to not hurt the existing environment, the vision of the Blue Frontiers [is to] facilitate the development of more conscious and balanced settlements at sea where humans can peacefully coexist with the environment and with each other.’
However, the most interesting thing about the project is the possible creation of an independent nation that floats in international waters and operates within its own laws to ‘liberate humanity from politicians’, according to the Seasteading Institute.
A number of non-residential buildings in the island are designed to function as business centers allowing various companies to work outside of government regulations.
‘This means there is stability, outside of fluctuating geopolitical influences, trade issues and currency fluctuations – it’s the perfect incubator,’ Ms. Mezza-Garcia said.
‘If you don’t want to live under a particular government, ‘people will be able to just take their house and float away to another island,’ she added.
According to her, the project is an exciting prospect for those people who are fed up with today’s political sphere.
“Recommended Video – These Experimental Scientists Try To Fly A Tikes Car! See What Happens”