Silver State Times

Nevada-based Blockchains LLC has interest in creating new smart cities that would require them to own the local government.

Company CEO Jeff Berns, dreams of a city were all data is kept online on blockchains, be it financial statements, medical records, or personal data. They will also have power over education and law enforcement, court systems, taxes, building infrastructure, making land and water management decisions among other things.

Blockchains LLC is proposing to build 15,000 homes on 33 million square feet of commercial and industrial space in a space of 75 years. The company wants to start building by 2022 in rural Storey County, 12 miles east of Reno. 

Berns said Blockchains offers more technological flexibility and invention as opposed to traditional governments.

"There’s got to be a place somewhere on this planet where people are willing to just start from scratch and say, ‘We’re not going to do things this way just because it’s the way we’ve done it,’” Berns said, The Epoch Times reported. 

Nevada lawmakers have expressed mixed views over the proposal which is yet to be formally made. Some legislators, mostly Democrats, are interested in exploring and diversifying the tourism industry, which is the backbone of the state's economy. 

The proposal comes at a time when many individuals are losing trust in tech companies, with big techs like Facebook and Twitter being accused of privacy breaches and market control.

Though Commissioner Lance Gilman, owner of the Mustang Ranch brothel, supports the move give tech companies control, he highlighted the risks associated with it.

“(The bill) wants the host county to let it form, become successful, not pay them very much money, and eventually let them take over the whole county and all the operations, if it becomes successful. If it doesn’t become successful, who becomes responsible for all the stuff that was built in the meantime?” Gilman said, as reported by The Epoch Times. He worked in the marketing department for Blockchains LLC from 2018 to 2019.

The Storey County’s master plan doesn’t allow residential development in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, where most of Blockchain LLC’s 70,000-acre property lies, it allows for only 3,500 homes in Painted Rock, a subsection of the company’s 67,000 acres, something the company doesn't agree to. 

“We bought 70,000 acres of land in the county. What did they think we were going to do?” Berns said, commenting on a meeting he previously had with former County Manager Pat Whitten who confirmed their lack of interest in zoning more homes in the state. Berns believes the decision should be made at state level. 

Berns went on to say that he sees government as a hindrance to the implementation of ideas.

"For us to be able to take risks and be limber, nimble and figure things out like you do when you’re designing new products, that’s not how government works. So why not let us just create a government that lets us do those things?” he said according to The Epoch Times. 

 Gov. Steve Sisolak backed Blockchains LLC in his state of the state address in January, saying that it would transform Nevada into “the epicenter of this emerging industry and create the high-paying jobs and revenue that go with it.” The governor and his affiliate political action committee received $60,000 from Blockchains during election campaigns.

If lawmakers approve the proposal, technology companies with 50,000 acres of land will have the authority to create zones, as long as there is a promise of $1 billion investment. These zones will be governed by three people, two from the company, the draft legislation states.