Satoshi cruise ship to house crypto companies and digital nomads. A company called Ocean Builders, that builds “floating, off-grid seapod homes,” has purchased an old Australian cruise ship, renamed it to “Satoshi” and plans to fill the ship with crypto companies, entrepreneurs and digital nomads off the coast of Panama.
Chad Elwartowski, chief operating officer of the company, revealed that the ship will be an innovation centre, offering a unique space where crypto entrepreneurs can create and network. He said “We look forward to creating a hub for technology and innovation here in Panama. Our goal is to figure out how to live sustainably on the sea and chart new waters in this new frontier.”
The Satoshi crypto cruise ship is named after the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin (BTC). Elwartowski shared that the vessel will host restaurants, casinos, medical facilities and a water park. Satoshi will anchor in the Gulf of Panama, an island home to many crypto exchanges, and BTC will be accepted for all on-board transactions alongside U.S. dollars.
The ship was built in 1991 with the name Pacific Dawn and has since been operated by Princess Cruises and P&O Australia. P&O’s parent company Carnival Corporation decided to sell the ship due to the impact of the pandemic on the cruising industry.
The first 200 of Satoshi’s 777 cabins will be sold in auctions that is set to take place from Nov. 5 to Nov. 28. The cabins are priced between $25,000 and $50,000. However, in order to gain complete ownership of the cabins, buyers must also pay ongoing monthly fees.
The cabins will be sold one deck at a time allowing entrepreneurs the chance to purchase rooms adjacent to each other. “Our idea for families with children is to buy a balcony or ocean view room for the parents and purchase a cheaper interior room across the hall for the children. We would like to think of your cabin as your bedroom while your living room is the rest of the ship.”
If everything goes according to plan, Satoshi will be available for residency from early 2021.
[image: Peter Scholten]
