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The NYT reports that a loosely knit group of crypto-currency multi-million/billionaires have chosen Puerto Rico to set up shop -- several reasons are given including a tax haven for US citizens and low real estate prices since the hurricane Maria destruction last year. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/technology/cryptocurrency-puerto-rico.html
Dozens of entrepreneurs, made newly wealthy by blockchain and cryptocurrencies, are heading en masse to Puerto Rico this winter. They are selling their homes and cars in California and establishing residency on the Caribbean island in hopes of avoiding what they see as onerous state and federal taxes on their growing fortunes, some of which now reach into the billions of dollars.
And these men — because they are almost exclusively men — have a plan for what to do with the wealth: They want to build a crypto utopia, a new city where the money is virtual and the contracts are all public, to show the rest of the world what a crypto future could look like. Blockchain, a digital ledger that forms the basis of virtual currencies, has the potential to reinvent society — and the Puertopians want to prove it.
For more than a year, the entrepreneurs had been searching for the best location. After Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico's infrastructure in September and the price of cryptocurrencies began to soar, they saw an opportunity and felt a sense of urgency.
[...] The movement is alarming an earlier generation of Puerto Rico tax expats like the hedge fund manager Robb Rill, who runs a social group for those taking advantage of the tax incentives.
"They call me up saying they're going to buy 250,000 acres so they can incorporate their own city, literally start a city in Puerto Rico to have their own crypto world," said Mr. Rill, who moved to the island in 2013. "I can't engage in that."
I suggest that the SN posters who write, "everything should be organized by contracts, not government" please buy a one-way ticket to PR now! And then see if you can actually make it work. [With limited electricity and thus limited internet, they may not pester the rest of us so often.]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @02:20PM (5 children)
> ...trolled by non-stories from mainstream sites?
This is the AC submitter, slept in and didn't get here when the story hit the main page.
I had my doubts about the NY Times reporting. Before submitting I looked up the main character in the story -- at least to this level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brock_Pierce [wikipedia.org] the story seems to check out.
Next step I suppose would be to look for reporting direct from Puerto Rico?
More to the point, why did you (TMB) choose to attack the basis of this story instead of a different story?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 06 2018, @02:28PM (4 children)
I think you got a page or two stuck together. We were talking about the other story. Offtopic, yes, but not that confusing really.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Tuesday February 06 2018, @07:14PM (3 children)
Perhaps it is time for a quality aristarchus submission?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday February 06 2018, @11:08PM (2 children)
No, it isn't time - it's long overdue. As in years overdue. Many of us question whether you are still capable. We're afraid that dementia has set in, and you'll never make a quality submission again. My best advice is, avoid all the alt sites.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Tuesday February 06 2018, @11:19PM (1 child)
Oh, not to worry, Runaway, I never go to the alt-right sites! Would not want to give them the clicks! And, it is getting harder to keep up with where they are, what with being banned as pariahs and deplorable right-wing violence types. I just look for news about the alt-right, and share it here so that Soylentils can stay informed about fringe political groups, and to help save useful idiots like yourself from being overly influenced by the mimetic meme culture that is seducing you unawares. Poor Runaway!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday February 06 2018, @11:28PM
See what I mean about dementia? You recently - VERY recently - submitted a story about alt-gov and alt-left and alt-something-not-right. And, you've forgotten it already. In the hopes that I'm not just talking to a tree, I offer this assistance, to help your failing mind: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=18/02/03/0959209 [soylentnews.org]