The beautiful Caribbean island of the Bahamas is not typically associated with a tech scene nor cryptocurrencies but, thanks to one startup, it soon may be.

The startup at the helm of Bahamian tech

PO8, a Bahamas-based tech company has been quietly building a pervasive presence on the island. Working in close contact with the Bahamian government, the organization has its hands in artifact preservation, museum building, virtual reality, gaming, and much more.

The primary link between the PO8 project and cryptocurrencies is the exploration and recovery of The Bahamas’ estimated $100B worth of undiscovered underwater artifacts. Using nonfungible tokens, PO8 will add transparency to the ownership of these underwater treasures that date well past the golden age of piracy.

Upon recovery, these recovered artifacts will remain safely within “The Wave”, the PO8 project’s 50,000 sq ft museum set to begin construction later this year. The implementation of the NFT means the artifacts can remain safe with proper authorities while also allowing investors to retain ownership. The NFT also affords investors a significantly greater degree of liquidity. Rather than physically transacting with another party, ownership of physical assets can be transferred via a trusted exchange.

The scope of PO8 and the Bahamas investment into tech goes far beyond artifact recovery.

Through an army of ROVs (Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles), PO8 plans to begin intensive mapping and mineral scanning of the seafloor surrounding The Bahamas. Upon collection, this intellectual property will be leased to the gaming and film industries, allowing for sustainable capitalization of the islands’ native resources.

Perhaps one of the most interesting branches of the PO8 organization is Skullys, a reward-based digital collectibles games. Using geo-location, Skullys allows players to raise a digital flag at their location. Players can then challenge others for land, the winner of which will earn daily cryptocurrency rewards for their efforts.

The new Bahamas

On the surface (or under the surface to be more precise) the PO8 team’s goals seem lofty. However, after speaking with PO8 Founder Matt Arnett, it’s obvious that the passion, connections, and know-how are readily available within the organization.

The group’s impressive team also includes Claudio Bonifacio, a world-renowned shipwreck expert and Dave Gallo, an oceanographer previously involved in the mapping of the Titanic, Air France Flight 447, and Ernest Shackleton’s ship HMS Endurance.

With favorable involvement of the government, the goals of PO8 seem much more attainable.

According to Arnett,

We will put The Bahamas on the world crypto stage. The Bahamas has now set its eyes on making Grand Bahama the crypto capital of the Americas. The Bahamas understands now is the time to welcome and innovate with blockchain technology.

You don’t have to look far to see the overarching benefits of the collaboration between the Bahamian government and PO8. The multi-faceted PO8 project is sure to bring in countless jobs and very helpful economic activity to the island nation. Some estimates put the collaboration’s economic injection at over 60 Million dollars per annum.