As rising sea waters lap at their feet, citizens of Tuvalu are experimenting with digital tech like the blockchain and cryptocurrency to preserve their identity and independence. Discover more by clicking the link below. Crypto DiscoverMagazine
Talk to anyone in Tuvalu, a 420-mile-long chain of coral islands located about halfway between Australia and Hawaii, and you will soon learn that the nation is sinking beneath the waves. It’s a common topic of discussion among residents of Tuvalu, a specter constantly looming over the island nation’s 10,000-odd citizens.
And while Tuvalu itself is shrinking, its population is rising. As a result, about 10 percent of Tuvaluan citizens live abroad, toiling on merchant ships or in phosphate mines in the nearby island nation of Nauru to send funds to their families back home. This phenomenon highlights another consequence of climate change for Tuvaluans: decreasing opportunities for domestic work.
A shack sits near the water’s edge in Funafuti, which is just a third of a mile at its widest point. Unlike Estonia, Tuvalu is not merely investing in a digital infrastructure to supplement the culture and economy within its physical borders. Tuvalu’s conversion to a blockchain infrastructure can also be considered an act of survival, a preparation for a future in which entire nations can exist solely on the web, their sovereignty granted by the blockchain rather than geographic claims.
There are valid reasons for Tuvalu to approach this deal with caution. Past attempts to bring blockchain technology to disadvantaged nations haven’t always gone smoothly. The government of El Salvador, for example, decided in June 2021 to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, sparking protests among citizens who felt their data was being collected and used against their will by blockchain firms. Pete Howson, a senior lecturer in international development at Northumbria University in the U.K.
Tuvalu’s government is well aware of the energy consumption costs of proof of work blockchains. “There are other projects we’re looking at that hopefully can address that,” Kofe says, including a plan to generate renewable hydrogen energy from seawater surrounding Tuvalu.
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