Cryptoland runs aground as $12m bid to buy Fiji island for resort falls through

Widely mocked plans to establish a tropical haven for cryptocurrency enthusiasts have run into trouble after a contract to buy an island in Fiji for US$12m fell through.

A group of crypto-evangelists, led by Max Olivier and Helena Lopez, outlined plans for the island, Nananu-i-cake, in a lavishly animated YouTube video, featuring a wide-eyed crypto bro named Christopher landing by helicopter and being given a guided tour by a talking coin called Connie.

The project has been compared to the collapsed Fyre festival and the 18-minute video was greeted with scoffing on social media.

The actual age of consent in Fiji is 16.

Kermode said it was a fantastic site for tourist development because it was on the eastern side of the island that gets the least rainfall and is available for sale on freehold title, which is rare in Fiji.

Tourism development on Fiji had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Guardian Australia could not reach Olivier or Lopez through Bradley Robinson, whom Cryptoland describes on its website as its project manager.