Puerto Rico's post-disaster 'crypto colonization'

By Al Mayadeen Net
Source: The Washington Post
17 Jan 2022 19:32
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Puerto Rico, following Hurricane Maria and bankruptcy, has experienced a crypto 'gold rush' of investors which has not really helped create jobs or relief.

Puerto Ricans are being taught about the benefits of crypto and blockchain as means of economic liberation.

Gustavo Diaz Skoff, a Puerto Rican entrepreneur, met 'crypto utopians' in 2018 and was attracted by their vision to rebuild the island destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

He worked with a cryptocurrency investor who had promised, vaguely, to donate $1 billion. However, Skoff saw only a small part of that money and was criticized, “You’re selling your country, you’re selling your island."

After passing Act 22 on the Caribbean island, which encourages and allows investors to benefit from the tax-free haven, housing prices have soared and applications to profit from investment without taxation have tripled in 2021.

Investors face an accusation that they are failing to create jobs and help the local community, and leftists on the island are pushing for the tax break to be repealed. In response, "crypto colonizers" - the investors - have been attempting to rebrand the cryptocurrency 'gold rush' as more "inclusive, empowering, and communal." The project stretches to Silicon Valley, and blockchain technology promises Web3 - an internet service and apps rebuilt on decentralized blockchain technology.

Many Puerto Ricans have been trying to take courses and attend summits to educate themselves more on cryptocurrency. In December 2021, hundreds in Puerto Rico attended Metaverso, which is a summit on the "technological and cultural implications" of non-fungible tokens or NFTs.

Pedro Cruz, a start-up founder, said “even people like my grandpa and my great-aunt understand the importance of bitcoin."

In 2017, Puerto Rico announced bankruptcy, and a large part of the debt was owed to US hedge funds; the 2018 hurricane exacerbated the situation, killing 3,000 people.

Brock Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, contended that the first wave of settlers was promising to turn Puerto Rico into a crypto utopia by building a new city that will use Blockchain as a mechanism. However, locals, despite the excitement, were greeting them with suspicion.

The Washington Post said that after a conference organized by Pierce led to protests from locals, who attended a scheduled “day of listening” and asked the crypto transplants to leave, Skoff offered to connect Pierce’s team with local nonprofits and advise them on community outreach. “But afterward it just stopped. There wasn’t continuity. There wasn’t consistency,” Skoff said.

Many have looked to using cryptocurrency to invest in nonprofit organizations - in this case, Metaverso has offered rewards and prizes for local hackers and an NFT auction. The events raised money for 2 domestic nonprofits to teach people more about NFTs and blockchain, which are creating ripples increasingly.