They paid €120.000 for a house on the Bitcoin island: 8 years later, they have nothing and Vanuatu is sinking

Vanuatu faces climate threats that exacerbate the stagnation of one of the most disruptive projects in the crypto world: the construction of Satoshi Island.

Satoshi Island, an ambitious project that sought to transform an island in Vanuatu into the first digital nation Based on blockchain, the project remains paralyzed, having delivered not a single home. Since July of this year, sales transactions have been suspended, and the NFTs representing digital ownership have been left without operational support, jeopardizing the rights of thousands of investors. 

The project, conceived eight years ago as a crypto utopia where digital citizenship, licenses and land rights would be managed through decentralized technology, now faces serious doubts about its structural and legal viability.

Satoshi Island faces a storm of doubts

More than 50.000 people paid up to €120.000 for packages promising access to a new digital way of life, but to date There is no tangible progress in the construction of infrastructure nor in the delivery of the services promised on the island. 

The lack of concrete results, coupled with the growing Vanuatu's climate vulnerability —a region exposed to numerous cyclones and environmental changes—, has turned Satoshi Island into a symbol of the tensions between technological innovation and the reality of structural and environmental challenges. 

While The project's promoters remain silentThose affected are demanding answers, and the international community is watching closely the future of an initiative that, at the time, was presented as the next big step in digital governance.

A decentralized vision that sought solid ground

Satoshi Island was born in 2017 as a proposal to create a completely digital community. Inspired by the principles of decentralization, transparency, and financial sovereignty, the idea was build a city where all transactions are conducted exclusively with cryptocurrencies and where the property was registered as an NFT on a blockchainIn 2021, the project was officially unveiled to the public, backed by Satoshi Island Holding Limited and supported by the then Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Bob Loughman.

The chosen island, approximately three square kilometers in size, is located in the Vanuatu archipelago in Oceania. Its appeal lay in the promise of becoming the world's first "cryptonation," with a governance system based on a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) and an economy without intermediaries. According to the project's official website, the infrastructure would be sustainable, modular, and designed to attract developers, investors, and enthusiasts of the crypto ecosystem.

In that context, the cryptocurrency boom of 2021 fueled the enthusiasm. Bitcoin was trading above $60.000 at the time, Ethereum was solidifying its role in decentralized finance, and NFTs were emerging as a new way to certify digital ownership. Satoshi Island offered a powerful narrative: a haven for those who wanted to live according to the principles of the digital economy. Attracted by all these promises, Approximately 50.000 people had applied to be part of the projectAccording reported the British newspaper The Sun. 

NFTs as property titles and digital citizenship

The operating model of Satoshi Island was based on an innovative legal and technological architecture. Each plot of land would be represented by an NFTThis would allow for verification of their authenticity and transfer without the need for notaries or traditional registries. Furthermore, NFTs would include a beneficiary system, similar to a digital will, and if no beneficiary exists, the DAO would decide their fate after a year of decentralized claims.

Digital citizenship was also structured as an asset on the blockchain. Potential residents could acquire it through tokens, granting them rights to participate in the island's governance. This structure aimed to replicate a model of direct democracy, where decisions were made collectively through blockchain voting.

However, Vanuatu's legal framework did not recognize these figures. The island, formerly known as Lautaro, was subject to a long-term lease, contradicting the narrative of full sovereignty. Furthermore, Vanuatu's immigration regulator warned in 2024 that Satoshi Island Limited was not an authorized agent for processing permanent residency applications, creating uncertainty among applicants.

The Satoshi Island challenge: between crypto vision and climate reality

In July of this year, the Satoshi Island team announced la suspension of purchase and sale operationsThis marked a turning point. Since then, no progress has been reported in housing construction or the delivery of functional digital assets. The promises of a smart, sustainable, and decentralized city have been put on hold, while legal, contractual, and climate-related problems accumulate.

Although its founders remain silent, the geographical context seems to play the most significant role in the project's paralysis. 

Vanuatu, the island nation where Satoshi Island is located, is one of the most vulnerable to climate changeRising sea levels, which are on the verge of submerging the archipelago, coastal erosion, and the increasing frequency of cyclones represent real threats that directly affect the physical viability of any long-term development in the region. Recent reports underline the existential risk facing VanuatuThis fact did not go unnoticed by Loughman, who nevertheless decided to lend his political support to the construction of Satoshi Island.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency world has moved beyond the speculative frenzy of 2021 and entered a more mature and structured phase. Regulation, interoperability between systems, and the strengthening of institutional infrastructure have become the pillars of the new crypto ecosystem. In this context, projects that fail to adapt to clear legal frameworks or that rely solely on idealistic rhetoric are losing momentum. This transformation of the regulatory and market environment could also explain why Satoshi Island faced significant difficulties in moving forward.

Given the evident failure of Satoshi Island, the more than 50.000 participants who believed in this initiative are still waiting for tangible solutions beyond the forgotten promises of innovation.