Couple Uses Bitcoin Wealth to Build World’s First Seastead

[CryptoBry]

An early Bitcoin investor and self-confessed libertarian has built the first “seastead” with his BTC profits. For those who do not know, a seastead is a floating home designed to stay in international waters, thus allowing its inhabitants to live outside of the laws of any nation.

I'm confused which part is more fascinating, a seastead floating home or a seastead floating home with bitcoins. I'm not against their wealth or something but this clearly affects the eco-system in the waters. Like to stay away from the bullshit we created, we invade the territories of the poor sea creatures.

THis is one issue that should be worked on by the seasteading project because certainly there are marine species that maybe dislodged but if the project has enough study then maybe this can be taken care of. The idea that the project can have its own laws and be not under any country can be not an absolute not unless they can locate themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean which is actually not a viable one...in many cases the area is under a certain country's economic zone but what they do is to have a certain agreement with the country it is in as a sort of an experimentation and maybe the country is looking at the project as a possible tourist attraction which can mean a lot for the country's coffers later on so it can be a win-win situation. Anyway, the idea can be attractive and with the right technology can be a very viable one otherwise this can be just another failed human-made ideas.

[jseverson]

It seems that he trying to get a freedom, but it's mean that he also not protected by any law and obtaining necessity stuffs will be hard too. I think it will be better if he buy more property so he can get passive income by renting it, If I am him then that is what would I do.

They seem to be hardcore libertarian, so staying away from laws, for better or worse, is probably a huge factor in this decision. They don't seem to be after any financial incentives from this either, so people can't really knock on them for not making "wiser" choices. They just want to live life on their terms, which Bitcoin encourages.

People seem to be pointing out a lot of problems but I think it's fine overall. Such is life for any pioneer. They could very well pave the way for the practice to be a lot more commonplace.

[shesheboy]

This is something to be proud of. I just hope they don't suffer any physical damage or die eventually from the unstable waves of water current. Seeking freedom through bitcoin and now they found freedom from their government.

Firstly bitcoin has made people escape the rigorous steps by the government before bitcoin came into play.
But all that has become a thing of the past.

what do you mean by that ?  it sounds sad to me but as i see bitcoin is still unregulated  meyt so dont worry .  by using bitcoin we can still experience a freedom  . i also like the idea of the couple that is stated on the first page but it seems to risky to me   .  arent they contented enough of using bitcoin and cryptos ? that can also be considered as a real freedom already imo .

[kelz1]

The sea stead could expand into a grouping of sea steads and a small community of like minded folk will start the worlds first village on boats in international waters

[Elwar]

We have our second video out about raising the seastead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c83TiSJ6sfA



Here's the first in case you missed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTXhgcXA1pM

[coolcoinz]

What's the price if you want to buy one? Is the price a fixed amount in BTC or is it going to vary depending on the fiat rates?
What does the price include?
Is it only the steel structure or maybe there are some installations included?
How are you planning to deal with the noise of the steel enclosure. I haven't been inside but I imagine it's like living in a giant barrel. The windows are also pretty small.
How's the ventilation inside? Does it get hot?

[enhu]

For anyone who is already used to working online can stay anywhere so long as they have internet access. You can try that kind of lifestyle living in a floating house but then if you have kids, it would be a different story.

The sea stead could expand into a grouping of sea steads and a small community of like minded folk will start the worlds first village on boats in international waters

I tried googling seastead, it seem like a small island which is going to be a costly for anyone unless you can reclaim one. Still a costly investment, I don't even think the government will consider a domicile.

[SafeSpell]

So, superwealthy couple lives where no laws or law enforcement applies? And they decided to make this news part of the public domain? Yep, this can in no way or shape ever backfire...

[arpon11]

An early Bitcoin investor and self-confessed libertarian has built the first “seastead” with his BTC profits. For those who do not know, a seastead is a floating home designed to stay in international waters, thus allowing its inhabitants to live outside of the laws of any nation.

...

https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/03/01/bitcoin-seastead/

This is great and it is really encouraging to some of us the current cryptocurrencies adopters.  Many stories are out there about how people are creating wealth through cryptocurrencies and this particular one is really great and I cannot lie but desire this asset for my family.  Whatever will make you to live out of the government laws and live peacefully is a welcome development and I pray my investments should also turn out great like this in future and I should be able to have a home of my own!

[Elwar]

What's the price if you want to buy one? Is the price a fixed amount in BTC or is it going to vary depending on the fiat rates?
What does the price include?
Is it only the steel structure or maybe there are some installations included?
How are you planning to deal with the noise of the steel enclosure. I haven't been inside but I imagine it's like living in a giant barrel. The windows are also pretty small.
How's the ventilation inside? Does it get hot?

The barebones price for the production model will be about $150k. We're still working to narrow down the price with our contractor.

The production model will be twice as deep with a more streamlined design to deal with wind and waves better.

The platform will have a walk around deck as well as the second floor 360 degree ocean view deck. The windows will also be much bigger.

Noise isn't bad at all. Similar to being inside a boat. The production version will have insulation. Ventilation has been fine, we live with the door open because no bugs. A fan is all we need for staying cool. Turn it off at night because it gets too cool.

A/C will be an optional add on.

[franky1]

elwar
as always. concentrate on describing how your project deals with utilities/sustainability
anyone can build a pod.
but a pod thats self sustaining and has utilities is different

its like land property. anyone can make a garden shed. but build one with its own electric supply, its own internet access and its own functional toilet. shower/clean water supply is totally different

a sea stead.. like a land based homestead is not about  the 'sea' part. its about the stead part.. the livability and sustainability.
so
clean water
sewerage handling
electric for more than just a laptop, fridge and nightlight(remember techy's love to use electric,) so dont sacrifice by saying mini fridge and raspbi are essential for restricted electric. think of a living situation where people can be actually comfy with music playing, online gaming on a 42"tv, cooking pizza and having lights on all at the same time

questions:
1. does the railing/metal frame on the roof have adequate square footage to mount enough solar to cover REAL COMFORT living
2. internally, with space for a living room, kitchen, and bedroom. is there also room for storage of clothing, gadgets. and then more importantly. the mechanics of electric circuits, water treatment, sewerage handling,

living like a thai monk in a minimalist pod might be ok for a month experience but average joe want thier home comforts

[qwertyup23]

An early Bitcoin investor and self-confessed libertarian has built the first “seastead” with his BTC profits.

I know some people who invested on bitcoin back when its price was around ~$1,000 and all of them have their own houses built using the income they garnered overtime. These people deserve the success for their sheer trust, determination, and patience from the very start they invested (and at the same time lucky!).

Plausible to hear that couple had really invested their time and money into Bitcoin and the end result was massive as we can see. Hope that, one day my long holds in cryptography will generate much high profits in return and I will equally write my name in gold.

It is possible for this situation to happen but not to this extent like what the couples experienced. Prices of bitcoin unexpectedly skyrocketed last year and that opened the opportunity for most long-term investors to cash-out their investments for maximum profit. Currently, many investors continue to hope that the price jump may happen again but I believe that it will but not to the same degree as what happened before.

[Artemis3]

I think this might be interesting once they try building underwater. Above the waves is a mistake, you are prone to both weather and piracy. And for that you could achieve your libertarian ideals by purchasing (or building) a large ship. I think some floating casinos exist to bypass laws in countries that don't like gambling. In the future, this idea will return with space. Spacestead? If a private entity builds a space station and sells citizenship what would happen? But before that, doing it underwater should be more feasible.

Seriously, if i was that couple, i would have bought a nice boat instead, and achieve the same thing, plus mobility.

[steampunkz]

I think this might be interesting once they try building underwater. Above the waves is a mistake, you are prone to both weather and piracy. And for that you could achieve your libertarian ideals by purchasing (or building) a large ship. I think some floating casinos exist to bypass laws in countries that don't like gambling. In the future, this idea will return with space. Spacestead? If a private entity builds a space station and sells citizenship what would happen? But before that, doing it underwater should be more feasible.

Seriously, if i was that couple, i would have bought a nice boat instead, and achieve the same thing, plus mobility.

I think living a simple life in seastead is not bad at all you are far from population, polution,  taxes etc. the couple here wants to permanently live there, they could afford some yacht or boat if they are only planning to travel seas.
But not right so they bought seastead from there earned bitcoins.

[Kakmakr]

Well this experiment quickly turned into a nightmare! I saw on the news tonight that the government pulled the house into the harbour and the owners are supposedly on the run. They say that they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty.  

They say the owners of the house is an American citizen and this house was floating in their economic zone.    I hope the couple is safe and they will get out of that country <Thailand> before this goes to court.  

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-18/bitcoin-couple-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-for-seastead/11031336

[xvids]

Well this experiment quickly turned into a nightmare! I saw on the news tonight that the government pulled the house into the harbour and the owners are supposedly on the run. They say that they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty.  

They say the owners of the house is an American citizen and this house was floating in their economic zone.    I hope the couple is safe and they will get out of that country <Thailand> before this goes to court.  

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-18/bitcoin-couple-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-for-seastead/11031336

It was a dream come true for them but ended up as a nightmare instead of happily ever after.
I also have a question for them,why did they choose seastead instead of a yacht or a houseboat?

[Pamadar]

Well this experiment quickly turned into a nightmare! I saw on the news tonight that the government pulled the house into the harbour and the owners are supposedly on the run. They say that they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty.  

They say the owners of the house is an American citizen and this house was floating in their economic zone.    I hope the couple is safe and they will get out of that country <Thailand> before this goes to court.  

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-18/bitcoin-couple-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-for-seastead/11031336

It was a dream come true for them but ended up as a nightmare instead of happily ever after.
I also have a question for them,why did they choose seastead instead of a yacht or a houseboat?

I read somewhere inside the forum where theymos replied to that specific thread that the OP himself is the one who did this, he's family is now being held in Thailand  for possible death penalty or life imprisonment.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5132685.0;topicseen

[Yakamoto]

Well this experiment quickly turned into a nightmare! I saw on the news tonight that the government pulled the house into the harbour and the owners are supposedly on the run. They say that they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty.  

They say the owners of the house is an American citizen and this house was floating in their economic zone.    I hope the couple is safe and they will get out of that country <Thailand> before this goes to court.  

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-18/bitcoin-couple-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-for-seastead/11031336

It was a dream come true for them but ended up as a nightmare instead of happily ever after.
I also have a question for them,why did they choose seastead instead of a yacht or a houseboat?

Notionally, a seastead can be used as a permanent residence which is completely outside of any country's control, allowing for them to be (what would amount to) a "floating haven" where only international laws apply. A boat still has to be registered to a country and, if I remember correctly, has to comply with all the laws under the flag which it flies. That's the primary difference, from what I know. However, the rule of force applies more than ever in international waters so if someone with a standing navy (or pirates) want to roll up on you, you're scuffed unless you can actively contest their actions.

It's an interesting concept, but they definitely needed to make it further away. Trying to just skirt along the edge of a country's territorial boundaries isn't wise, as this couple has apparently very quickly discovered.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Like to stay away from the bullshit we created, we invade the territories of the poor sea creatures.

Those creatures have plenty of underwater space and I don't think any of them are in danger because of things like this.  Underwater drilling and general pollution of the environment by huge corporations are of much bigger concern.

This is truly impressive.  Think of the mining you could do if you had enough solar power on a boat home large enough.  All the rigs could be kept down below and there would be enough clear sky to power everything.  The possibilities are incredible.  Would not be for me however.  Not a libertarian and I would not be happy living with water all around, no matter how much freedom that provided.

What stuck out to me from the article is how little it cost them to do that.  It's more than I could afford but if I were to imagine the cost of a 'Seastead' I would think it would cost much more than they paid to build it.

Edited to add:

Well this experiment quickly turned into a nightmare! I saw on the news tonight that the government pulled the house into the harbour and the owners are supposedly on the run. They say that they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty. 

Doh.  Should have read through the thread before making my comment.  That sucks for them but I don't think they will get put to death for this.

[Carlton Banks]

they can give the death penalty or life imprisonment for people who infringe on their countries sovereignty

this entirely demonstrates governments are simply thuggish mafias.

Not in our territory, just close? We'll write some official language on some pieces of paper, and use those pieces of paper to justify murdering you