Belgian crypto billionaire offers island residents $100 a month if community project approved

Belgian-born crypto billionaire Olivier Janssens has proposed paying all residents of the Caribbean island of Nevis 100 dollars a month if the government gives the green light to his planned libertarian community project, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The project of Olivier Janssens, named Destiny, is set to become a large-scale new community on the south coast of Nevis. An email to the project’s followers states that payments to all residents, including children, would begin immediately once the final agreement with the government has been approved. According to the organisers, the original plan was to share 5 per cent of future profits with the population, but they now wish to “give something back” sooner.

The proposed monthly payment represents a significant increase compared to an earlier suggestion of around 11 dollars per person. For a family of four, this new proposal would amount to 4,800 dollars per year.

According to the Financial Times, the offer has met with strong criticism. Opposition politicians on the island accuse Janssens of seeking to influence the population and put pressure on the government to approve the project. Some even speak of an attempt at public bribery.

Destiny is said to be a multi-billion-dollar project that would take up around 2,400 hectares of land, nearly a tenth of the island. The plan includes luxury villas, medical facilities and a community based on libertarian principles, in which, according to Janssens, residents “can do whatever they want as long as they respect the rights of others”. The government of Saint Kitts and Nevis is currently reviewing the plans.

^{Panoramic view on Timothy Hill lookout of Saint Kitts and Nevis © PHOTO IMAGEBROKER}