Back in 2017, the failure of the Fyre Festival, which was run by a convicted felon named Billy McFarland, was such a big deal that Netflix made a documentary about it. Now, a new company wants to put that island in the Bahamas back on the map by building high-end villas with NFT gates.
In a press release from Wednesday, a firm called AGIA International said that it will sell “60 ultra-luxurious pavilions and villas” on the Great Exuma Island and that it will be “the only community strictly sold via NFTs.”
According to the release, the buildings will be between 1,000 and 6,500 square feet. The project’s website says that people who want to live on the island will have to pay $10,000 just to get on the “allowlist,” or presale list. Prices for homes will likely range from about $1.5 million to $5 million.
“We bought this community because we saw its future, not its past,” told AGIA International Co-founder Erik Sanderson of the now-infamous area in a statement.
The press release also says that AGIA International is connected to The Setai hotel in Miami Beach and the Amanyara hotel in Turks and Caicos.
Sanderson said in the press release that the new development will create 150 construction jobs and 125 hospitality jobs that will last longer.
A quick search on Linkedin for Sanderson shows that he has been linked to AGIA since 2021. Sanderson seems to be the CEO of both AGIA and the Technomarine Group, which is a boating and marine company based in Florida.
Even though it might seem such as a publicity stunt, this isn’t the first time someone has used or planned to use an NFT as a de facto “deed” showing ownership of real estate or physical property. Several real houses have been sold through NFTs, and the news keeps coming out about them, even during the bear market.
The Bahamas have a history of being crypto-friendly, and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-cryptocurrency Fried’s exchange is based there.
Even so, it’s important to remember that creating an NFT based on big promises that haven’t been kept can be very risky. On blockchain networks such as Ethereum, blockchain transactions can’t be undone, so users may not be able to get their money back if AGIA’s project turns out to be the next Fyre Festival.
Leave this field empty if you're human:
