There are a lot of countries that want into the crypto game.
While nations such as the United States get the headlines, smaller countries also want to change the path of their futures.
El Salvador under President Bukele was early to the race.
Now we are seeing others wanting to step up. One to recently declare itself is Maldives.
What is at stake? It is easy to state this is a game in the billions. For that reason, billions of dollars are being invested.
Maldives announced that it is seeking to become a crypto hub.
The government of Maldives signed an agreement with MBS Global Investments, a Dubai-based family office, to develop a $9 billion crypto and blockchain hub in Malé, the capital of the South Pacific archipelago nation.
We see the potential for countries to completely alter their economies. Maldives is a fishing and tourism nation, depending upon those two industries for most of the GDP.
By getting involved in cryptocurrency, it can make itself into a technological hub. Certainly, some young developers and entrepreneurs might like the weather.
Completing the project will take an estimated five years and the capital requirements for the ambitious development are more than the $7 billion in annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the Maldives.
Here we see the importance of this. This is akin to the United States investing $35 trillion in a single project.
It is a significant investment.
The network-state is going to take over.
In the meantime, nation-states are seeking to get into the game. We are talking about trillions in wealth generated when AI and robotics is included. This means that a $9 billion gamble is well worth it.
No economy is going to survive to any degree unless there is a strong digital foundation. It simply is where things are heading.
Marc Andreeson mentioned how "software is going to eat the world". This is certainly the case. When we consider the potential of AI, it is mind blowing.
Of course, my view is that separating AI and crypto is impossible. The two are linked together. There is no way AI agents are going to operate using Visa or domestic banks. They will be tied to digital wallets.
Even though I think that decentralization eventually rules the day, there will be a transition period which provides winners and losers among the nation-states. There is really no other way to achieve the ultimate outcome without going through this.
The move from an extractive system to something different will not happen until control is wrestled away from the gatekeepers. In other words, they will not give it up freely.
For the moment, the focus is on geographic areas. All headlines are still nation based, US, China, Japan, or Maldives.
Eventually, the focus will be on networks.
