‘Satoshi Island’ crypto utopia receives 50K citizenship NFT applications

Step aside, El Salvador, there’s a new Bitcoin-centric destination on the map. As a 32-million-square-foot private island sanctuary in the remote South Pacific, Satoshi Island is a “place for the crypto community to call home.”

A combination of honeymoon getaway, Bond-villain hideout and naturalist paradise, there’s one enigmatic exception to Satoshi Island: it’s 100% crypto. Talking to Cointelegraph, the Satoshi Island team of Denys Troyak, James Law, Taras Filatov and Benjamin Nero mentioned that it is:

“A true crypto-economy where everything will be paid for in crypto and all ownership on the island is represented with NFTs.”

With its name inspired by the creator of Bitcoin (BTC), Satoshi Nakamoto, the team added that “the island intends to host events all year round, house and headquarter crypto projects as well as being a gathering place for crypto enthusiasts worldwide.”

Further down the road, the island could “operate as a decentralized autonomous organization.” To date, they’ve bought an island, secured build permits and reached a milestone of 50,000 visa nonfungible token (NFT) applications to become permanent crypto residents. An NFT marketplace is currently hush-hush.

The creation of a crypto utopia may seem unassailable even for the ambitious crypto community. Still, the founders have already received “50,000 applications for our free Citizenship NFT, acting as a whitelist to enter our Land NFT sale, while also permitting the holder to live on the island with many other benefits.”

Every home will be an NFT, or a “Satoshi Island Land NFT,” which can be traded. For the traditionalists, NFT holders can “turn their digital rights into physical documentation on the official land registry of Vanuatu.”

Unlike famous flops such as Fyre festival or CryptoLand — or any other failed fantasy project from an overly enthusiastic team of venture capitalists — Satoshi Island has mapped out a strategy, ticking off key developments in an orderly fashion. The team scoured the globe to choose a location, respected the legal process and avoided paid marketing or influencer campaigns.

Watch our video & see how we’re turning a dream into reality!

Yes, we already own the island
Yes, we can develop as advertised
Yes, the government supports our plan
Yes, our team has relevant expertise

️#satoshiisland a home for crypto enthusiasts & professionals worldwide! pic.twitter.com/1O05kmfrN1

— Satoshi Island (@satoshiisland) January 27, 2022

The Satoshi Island vision began during the 2017 bull run, as the “concept started out as an idea to have a place for the crypto community to call home and the actual island was chosen years after.” In fact, “it took many years to find the right island and to get everything together to be able to release to the public.”

First, the island had to be remote enough for privacy but not so remote that development would be too difficult. Second, the island should not be at risk of climate change and be protected from natural disasters. The slog to find an adequate location was compounded by the knowledge that, while it was “undoubtedly exciting” to pore over the world in search of an island for sale, they “had to be realistic.”

“This project started out as a crypto project looking for an island, not an island looking to become crypto city.”

Plus, the government managing the territory must be “open to the idea of a crypto city.” Finally, after years of searching, the team was onto a winner with Vanuata: “The government showed a willingness to innovate and were open to discussions right away.”

Indeed, the Pacific island nations are building a reputation for being crypto-friendly. Nearby, in Tonga, Bitcoin as legal tender has been widely discussed while just across the same body of water, the Marshall Islands has “opened the gates” to DAOs.

Vanuatu lacks “jobs and tourism,”…