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It is no secret that there is a global competition on right now for dominance in the blockchain space. While some government entities continue to impose new restrictions on the industry, others are doing everything possible to attract this cutting-edge sector. Malta, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda are some of the most well known for their efforts in this arena.
Puerto Rico made headlines by attracting a $1 billion donation from crypto-kingpin Brock Pierce. This comes along with a flurry of other investments from the blockchain industry, a welcome change from the economic despair of the last decade.
Malta (GDP of $11 billion) for instance, was able to attract Binance (the world's largest exchange with daily trading volume of $2 Billion)all the way from China to their island, bringing with it huge implications for the future of their economy.
So how exactly did these small economies somehow latch themselves onto the fintech rocketship that is blockchain? Simply by making themselves into a suitable habitat for the industry through tax and regulatory legislation. In a rapidly advancing world, these quick to adapt island nations are well positioned to become the silicon valley of web 3.0.
The city of Pontiac, Michigan is also considering what blockchain can do for their economy.
Pontiac is in a great position for a new start as along with many mid-western states, the outsourcing of manufacturing has lead to hard times. In 2011, Pontiac filed for bankruptcy and has since enacted several extremely crypto-friendly pieces of legislation. This includes instituting an "opportunity zone" allowing investors to be exempt from capital gains tax on profits used to purchase buildings in the city. Also exciting is the coming legalization of recreational cannabis in the state, and the fact that the downtown area has been approved for 20 dispensaries.
Leading the charge to prepare Pontiac for the next generation of business is an organization known as PontiacNow.
To accomplish this goal they are focusing on the 4 C's they believe are essential to creating a cutting edge business environment: crypto, community, content and cannabis.
Below are the goals stated on their website:
-1.Cryptography
Perhaps the most critical technological advancement since the internet, cryptocurrency and blockchain has the potential to completely re-write the way our global civilization operates. We are going to make sure Pontiac is leading the charge towards a fully blockchain integrated society.
-Full Retail Acceptance
One of the most obvious ways to attract those involved with this new tech is to make it easy for them to spend it here. We will be working with the Palmpay.io crypto POS system to make it simple for all Pontiac businesses to accept cryptocurrency
-Real Estate Purchases
We will be working with local real estate owners and tax authorities to make it easy for Bitcoin millionaires to purchase buildings without the headache of converting back and forth from the dollar. This is in addition to existing legislation that allows for exemption of capital gains taxes on those gains used to purchase buildings in Pontiac.
-2. Community
We aim to create a world class community through education, modern working environments and events.
-Coworking spaces
Essential to attracting the modern digital nomad workforce is offering convenient and well equipped workspaces. We plan to work with local business and building owners to create such spaces open to the PontiacNow community.
-EOS Technician Training program
EOS is quite possibly the most important blockchain project up to this point. Often referred to as “Blockchain 3.0”, it has capabilities that far exceed what the market currently offers. This means that programmers will be in high demand, we hope to offer training to help fill that demand. This will not only create opportunities for many looking for work, but will attract employers to the area.
-Weekly Blockchain meetups/presentations
Fostering a community is all about getting like minded people together. We will be working with the metro Detroit blockchain community to put on weekly meetups and presentations on blockchain topics. This will not only serve as an easy avenue for the public to learn more about the incoming revolution, but also a great opportunity for local blockchain businesses to share their experiences and needs.
-Career Fair Conference
Conferences are a staple of the blockchain community, as they bring a mostly digital community together in the flesh. We plan to throw such an event in Downtown Pontiac, this will attract attention from not only all over Michigan, but the global blockchain community.
-3. Content
No matter how awesome Pontiac is, it won’t matter if we don’t get the word out. That is we have an aggressive content creation/marketing campaign planned.
-Weekly meetup presentations
We will be recording all of the presentations at our weekly meetups for distribution online. This incentives the presenters by giving them further exposure online.
-Bi-weekly PontiacNow video podcast
This will focus not only on updating the audience on our projects but on most recent developments within the city as a whole.
-Advertising
All of our content will be distributed and aggressively marketed online using cutting edge methods by our digital marketing team. Through utilization of targeted facebook, instagram and click funnel marketing all content will receive maximum exposure.
-4. Cannabis
While many downtown areas fervently resist the marijuana industry, even after recreational legalization, Pontiac has already been approved for 20 dispensaries in the downtown area for 2019.
-Crypto Banking Solutions
One major issue remaining for dispensaries is the federal level schedule 1 classification of cannabis. This classification means that banks cannot accept funds originating from the sale of marijuana. This leads to many safety concerns as dispensaries can only accept cash, meaning they are a target for armed robberies. This also leads to difficulties when purchasing business supplies overseas, as large amounts of cash are extremely difficult to move across borders. We will be working with these businesses on ways to use cryptocurrency to circumvent these problems, as crypto cuts out the need for banks completely.
-Attracting Outside Investment
As recreational cannabis dispensaries are sure to be a very profitable business when they are legalized in Michigan in 2019, this fact combined with the Pontiac opportunity zone is sure to attract investment from outside the state. Using our cryptocurrency network we hope to entice investors looking to diversify their Bitcoin millions.
All of these goals do seem to be a tasty recipe for a thriving modern business environment. The combination of crypto, tax incentives and cannabis are sure to be a deadly combo for 2019.
Peace, Love, Anarachy,
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