Author – Anujit
Nevada, USA-based Blockchains, LLC has purchased over 60,000 acres of land in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, Nevada. With this purchase this relatively lesser known company has certainly made the headlines, more so due to lack of clarity with respect to their plans.
Tahoe-Reno Industrial (TRI) center in Nevada already hosts technology giants such as Tesla, Google and Apple. With this purchase Blockchains, LLC has acquired 62% of the total industrial area. Nevada has zero state tax, and blockchain/cryptocurrency-based industries can’t be taxed by state/local governments in this state. Dry climate, plenty of empty space, and proximity to California are the other reasons for which the state is increasingly appealing for enterprise operations, especially data storage and electronics.
While most people identify blockchain as the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, the technology has far wider implications. Financial technology (FinTech) industry was one of the first to understand the power of this technology, however, companies in other industry verticals, as well as governments, are increasingly warming up to it. With every node in blockchain network being equal points of authority, blockchain makes middlemen redundant. Besides, consensus mechanism requires that only the nodes providing significant proof of work (POW) can add new blocks to blockchain, thus making it economically non-viable to hack blockchain. A few examples of businesses and governments leveraging the power of blockchain and exploring it are following:
- Proof Work is working to give patients control over their electronic medical records (EMRs);
- Intel is bringing the power of blockchain into genetic sequencing;
- Sony is leveraging blockchain to build multi-factor authentication (MFA) system;
- Encrypted messaging app Telegram is working on making cryptocurrencies suitable for day-to-day transactions and micropayments;
- Government of India (GoI) is exploring blockchain to help farmers, and to give added fillip to their anti-corruption drive.
Blockchains, LLC is owned by two brothers, Jeffrey and David Berns, both of whom are from legal background. There isn’t sufficient clarity over what they plan to do with the huge amount of land they have purchased in TRI, and this is giving rise to rumors that a giant cryptocurrency mining rig will be set up in the acquired land. Jeffrey and David have not exactly spelt out their plans, however, they have clarified that they plan to set up a large facility in TRI, which will employ 1,000 people. Their stated aim is to conceptualize and incubate blockchain-based ideas and ventures. The company works on the Ethereum platform. Their current projects are on financial services, and development of distributed apps (Dapps). They have also expressed that they want to see this promising technology being used in ways that protect consumer rights.
