Richard Branson is the bad boy of capitalism. With every new venture, he aims to break its norms and do things in a way that has a much better outcome for everyone involved. His home, Necker Island, was the location of a recent meeting that went down between some of the world’s leading minds in Bitcoin. Economic journalist Hannes Grassegger was invited to attend and he wrote a wonderfully detailed account of those who gathered, drank and spoke. Here are some excerpts  – as well as pictures – from his story:

On Necker, there is no line between business and private life, at least for employees. For moments when Branson himself does not wish to be disturbed, he purchased the neighboring Mosquito Island. Only Larry Page, Branson’s kite-surfing buddy and CEO of Google, was recently allowed to buy himself a piece of land there.

The occasion of my trip was a gathering of two dozen of the entrepreneurs and radical anarcho-capitalists who make up the upper echelons of the bitcoin digital currency movement. The event took birth at a private evening on Necker Island, when the organizers of a kite surf event called MaiTai had asked Branson over a drink if he would be up for bringing together all the leading minds in bitcoin—on his island. “Sure,” he said. What exactly this was all about was unclear to me, but it seemed they were getting together to plan a coup. “We look forward to welcoming you to paradise,” the invitation to the Blockchain Summit proclaimed.

Pierce, Zeldin, and I had received invitations to the Blockchain Summit, which was meant to bring together “the world’s greatest minds in digital innovation” to “define the future.” Essentially, what seemed to be happening was that a great deal of money and power were being gathered in the middle of the Caribbean, on a billionaire’s private island, for the purpose of plotting. The meeting would culminate in the second night’s “Blockchain Summit Final Dinner,” a networking event with a “cocktail reception and lemur feeding.”

“Do I need money?” I asked.

She shook her head, laughing, and flitted away.

Branson evidently had two things on his mind when establishing his island: sex and drinks. His villa was built in Bali, then disassembled, shipped, and erected on Necker’s highest point. A wooden hot tub is enthroned on the roof, behind which waves the flag of the British Virgin Islands, the Union Jack on a blue background with the motto,Vigilate: “Be vigilant.” From here one can see the entire island: the beach house, the tennis court, the two ponds, a handful of scattered love nests, and, in the distance, a few other islands. Next to the house is a shimmering green infinity pool that looks out on an endless Caribbean horizon.

The goal of these entrepreneurs is to rebuild existing industries with new technology, monopolize the market, and watch the profits roll in. They call this “disruption”—as Airbnb has done in the hotel industry, or Uber in the realm of taxis. The larger the target industry, the better. Google has built a whole “vertical,” X, for testing so-called “moonshots,” ideas so megalomaniacal that anyone would consider them impossible—anyone who did not have a few billion to spare on their realization, that is.

In his opening speech, Branson invited the guests to rate their business plans in terms of “Scale of Effect on Society.” This was accompanied by a musical interlude by star cellist Zoë Keating, who spent the rest of her stay on Necker Island excitedly posting snapshots of Branson’s giant tortoises on Instagram.

Nor does Branson’s choice of residence seem accidental. Branson officially relocated to Necker in 2006 for health reasons, he has said. But the British Virgin Islands—or BVI, for short—of which Necker is one, are the most popular offshore tax haven in the world. By developing a complicated network of BVI companies, Branson pays few taxes in his native land. Many English children have heard of Necker Island. It is a dream island that represents the idea that an individual can beat the state.

To moderate the summit, the organizers booked one of the most renowned writers on finance technology, Wall Street Journal columnist Michael J. Casey, who last year published The Age of Crypto-Currency, a book on digital currencies like bitcoin and its underlying programming principle, the “blockchain.”

A Dutchman in his 50s, who introduces himself as Marc, wanted to try paddleboarding, so I decided to join him. Marc invests in startups. He flew in from Vancouver. “Why did you come?” I asked him. The trainer positions the board on some calm water for us.

“Bitcoin is gradually turning into a serious thing,” Marc said as he tried to stand on the wobbly board. “Look at who’s here—a president of Samsung, a chief strategy officer of Ernst & Young. Did you hear that Obama’s favorite economist, Larry Summers, has gotten involved with a bitcoin bank? And the founder of Visa?”

To conclude, Luckett—the Rolls Royce burner—demonstrated that the development of the internet and the blockchain are not only spiritually correct, but deeply natural. Nature too is organized in networks. As proof, he showed pictures of networks of mushrooms next to visualizations of social media networks. The applause was frenetic. During a short pause, the participants gathered on the giant chess terrace for a 3D group picture. As the picture-snapping drone approached from the blue skies, everyone raised their arms in a group cheer.

[source: vice]