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Crisis-Hit Greek Island Introduces Cryptocurrency

agistriThe Greek financial crisis has greatly affected the big cities such as the capital, Athens, and Thessaloniki, as well as the small remote villages and islands such as the island of Agistri.
Agistri, an island located close to the Greek capital, has only 1,142 inhabitants according to the 2011 Greek census. While the islanders had felt the effect of the financial crisis, it all became much harder after the imposition of capital controls in late June.
The only ATM on the island quickly ran out of cash, therefore many residents and tourists were forced to take a boat to the mainland in order to withdraw their daily –and later- weekly limit. Since capital controls are keeping small businesses from paying their vendors, Agistri is faced with low tourism rates, since larger travel agencies tend to provide travel packages to larger and more well-known islands.
The inhabitants had very few options when it came to keeping the island’s economy running. The local authorities met and decided to participate in a new pilot cryptocurrency program, Nautiluscoin.
Nautiluscoin is a digital currency created in an effort to help various businesses and individuals who wish to make transactions without using the traditional currency system. It was created and launched by Brian Kelly and its purpose is to preserve purchasing power and maintain stability, in the economic sector.
“The mayor of the Greek island of Agistri has agreed to allow the island to be a pilot program for a new monetary ecosystem, which will use Nautiluscoin,” wrote Kelly in a CNBC article. “The combination of the small size and convenient location makes Agistri a perfect candidate for a pilot program. Over the coming weeks, the infrastructure for this project will be rolled out and the citizens of Agistri will receive Nautiluscoin to begin transacting.”

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