Bequia is the second largest island of the Grenadines, an island chain in the Caribbean with over 600 islands in the Windward Islands.

Once just a beautiful and peaceful island, things may be about to change for Bequia as a young real estate developer is looking to create the world’s first Bitcoin-using community on the tropical island

Specifically, real estate company Storm Gonsalves plans to build 39 luxury villas, as well as bars, shops, restaurants and a club, where friendly residents love to spend money.

They can also purchase two- to five-bedroom villas, priced between $1.1 million and $2.3 million, in any digital currency.

Port Elisabeth harbor in Bequia, part of the island nation of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.

`Bequia has always been an island of these sailors, where you go to get away from everyone, without the Internet, it’s almost like being on a deserted island,` said Gonsalves, 29, real estate company CEO

The S-shaped island, the second largest in the Grenadines chain, is now set to become a pioneer for cryptocurrency.

`Some of our customers will decide to live in them full-time, others will at certain times of the year, and when they’re not in these homes, we can sublet them and

Gonsalves said he was inspired by Felix Dennis, the British publishing magnate who bought the house of rock legend David Bowie.

`The heart of the resort is the clubhouse, where we will have our own restaurant and bars, gym, spa and cinema,` Gonsalves elaborated.

The Caribbean has many of its own resorts and communities, but Gonsalves said he wanted to do something radically different with his project.

`The homes are priced in USD but we also offer the ability to pay in cryptocurrency. So we will accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Dogecoin – Elon Musk’s favourite,`

`I realized that people who were holding very valuable crypto portfolios, there wasn’t really an easy way to spend it to buy assets. If we helped someone pay with Bitcoin or

`Nowhere else on the planet is there a $2 trillion market that no real estate developer is addressing. I think a lot of developers don’t offer this because of fear of

`If you buy early then you’re sitting on a pretty penny, even if it’s a little less than last week,` he said with a laugh.

He also explained that all stores, restaurants and bars will accept payments in Bitcoin or other approved cryptocurrencies.

`It will be as simple as spending cash or using a debit card. We will display our wallet address and when you receive your invoice, the Bitcoin quote will be valid for 15 minutes,`

Gonsalves also hopes to expand Bitcoin payments across the island, getting everyone on board with the hope of `spreading the benefits and money around a little`.

`We will encourage them and work with them to set up their own payment processing systems, to allow them to also accept Bitcoin,` he said.

`I spent a lot of my childhood in Bequia so I was a known person there, and people came up to me in shops and asked me when they could start working.

Gonsalves predicts that the project, which has a development budget of about $50 million, will generate `several million dollars` per year for the community once it opens.

`I think most people will buy with Bitcoin, from the reaction I’ve gotten so far, because it’s a validation of the philosophy that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are the new medium of exchange,` he said.

And he admits he has been surprised by the interest in the project, which he hopes will break ground later this year.

The project is expected to start construction at the end of this year.

Refer independently