#119 - The first metaverse country 🌎

GM and welcome to Decentra Daily.

We're the web3 newsletter that ignores those "don't feed the bears" signs.

We out here with bitesize snacks for you bears every day!

Today,

• Tuvalu: the real metaverse country

• The tax-friendly Unsellable marketplace

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The first metaverse country

The pacific island nation of Tuvalu looks pretty sweet.

What I would give to write Decentra Daily from one of those palm-tree-bordered beaches:

But like many tropical islands, Tuvalu has a big climate-change-shaped problem.

In fact, it could become the first country on Earth to disappear due to global warming.

• It's one of the world's smallest countries, with 9 islands & a pop. of 11,000

• Experts predict the islands could be submerged within 80 yrs

• Coral bleaching has ruined fish stocks.

• Flooded roads are now commonplace

So, with the unstoppable problem of rising seas literally surrounding them, what can the government of Tuvalu do?

Move to the metaverse, of course!

Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe has embarked on an international campaign to make his home the first officially recognized digital country.

He wants to build a digital twin of Tuvalu in the metaverse to preserve its culture, history, and even elements of its infrastructure.

What does he mean by "digital twin"?

• Kofe defines a metaverse country as one that's "migrated its governance to the digital space."

• For him, it's about finding ways to recreate "an immersive experience of Tuvalu."

• If/when Tuvalans resettle in other places, he hopes a digital twin will help preserve communities & culture

Kofe updated us on Tuvalu's plans during COP27, with an awesome, sad, and pretty dystopian speech made from inside his virtual country:

So far, 9 other countries have signed an agreement to continue recognizing Tuvalu as a sovereign nation.

That means they've committed to recognizing national laws, waters, and rights if Tuvalu does transition to a semi-digital state.

– Why is that interesting?

If a meta-country can get the same legal treatment as an IRL nation, it's another step toward full recognition and respect for digital assets and environments.

On the flip side, Tuvalu could be a case study for how to use web3 to respect the existence of physically threatened people, places, and things. 🤔

Tweet of the day

On the web3 wire

• Satoshi minted the 1st BTC block 14 years ago today 💍

• SBF asks court to hide the identity of his $250m bail cosigners

• Square Enix is developing “multiple blockchain games" 🎮

"Unsellable" NFT marketplace fills up with tax harvesters

If you buy a decent amount of NFTs, you've probably got a few duds in your wallet.

Maybe the collection was rugged, the founders got canceled, or you accidentally spent 100 ETH on a fake Banksy NFT.

Now, a platform called Unsellable is offering to buy Ethereum NFTs that no one else will, so degens can harvest the losses for tax write-offs.

– and many did just that. Unsellable collected 16,000 NFTs during the end-of-year rush.

What you need to know:

• Unsellable lets you dump up to 1000 NFTs in a single transaction

• They'll buy your worthless JPEGs for $0.01 (+ a small gas fee)

• Then give you a CPA-ready Rrceipt

But is it legit?

The IRS classifies NFTs as digital assets subject to capital gains tax, meaning you're supposed to report any sold to generate income.

But, if you sell NFTs within the year for less than you spent, you can offset the losses against those gains.

However, there's nothing stopping you from trying to get more than Unsellable's $0.01 offer for your trash NFTs (if you have the time).

Plus, differences between how fed and state bodies classify digital assets can make it tricky to tow the legal line.

Personal finances and state regulations also affect the amount you can write off, so DYOR.

Until tomorrow!

👋

Meme of the day