Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday unveiled details behind a plan to allow private industry to develop technology “innovation zones” that would include new cities with their own government.
In particular, the Democratic governor is throwing the welcome mat out to developers of the technology behind blockchain, best known as the record-keeping system behind cryptocurrencies. One of the first big beneficiaries of a bill the governor has proposed would be Blockchains LLC, a Nevada-based firm that has previously announced plans to build a city from the ground up on 67,000 acres of desert land it acquired near Reno in 2018.
Situated near where Tesla Inc. and some other tech giants have expanded in recent years, Blockchains envisions a Painted Rock Smart City and Innovation Park of at least 36,000 people with more than 30 million square feet of commercial and industrial space that would use a “stablecoin” as its cryptocurrency. Over time, the city would support $1.8 billion annually in wages and 40,000 jobs.
The governor, who first introduced the idea for the innovation zones during his State of the State address last month, said in a Zoom press briefing Friday that Nevada needed to do something drastic to lessen a dependence on gaming and tourism that has pushed its unemployment rate as of December to 9.2%—second highest in the country behind Alaska.
“We cannot wait for economic recovery to come to us,” Gov. Sisolak said. “We must accelerate and pursue innovative ways to inject Nevada with new and organic economic growth.”
