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Trying to Buy a Town with Ethereum

20 points by _1vry ↗ HN
My colleagues and I are attempting to crowdfund the purchase of a town with an Ethereum smart contract.

You can find the contract source code and additional information here: [link redacted]

15 comments

[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 39.1 ms ] thread
ethereumops
Funny, I just stumbled upon that real estate listing the other day and live in the northeast. Is there anyway to reach you to hear more about the project? Crypto real estate crowdfunding is super interesting!
_1vry
Send me an email at [address redacted]. I'd love to network with other interested people!
coolspot
So, if someone donates more than me, then I would lose my patron status and do not get donation back?

It is possible to donate more than someone and still not be patron, e.g:

1. I donate 1000 eth, become patron #1.

2. Someone donates 1003 eth, he becomes patron #1, while patron #1 (me) is just forgotten (does not become patron #2).

3. Let's say places #2 and #3 already occupied too with donations of 999 and 888 eth.

4. I donate another 500 eth, so my total contribution now is 1500 eth, but I still do not make it into patrons list, despite I have donated more than anyone else.

5. Sad. Cevfefe.

caffinatedmonk
It also seems to be based on the account balance of the patron, not the amount they contribute.
coolspot
You are right. The code does not stand any critique.
ericmcdonald
It does not. But my team has at least established that interest exists, and we are actively working on a new contract, stay tuned!
ericmcdonald
Thanks for the constructive criticism! I pretty much expected someone to tear my code to shreds. I'll have an updated contract by the end of this weekend, and have it up for review on GitHub before we launch the new contract.
dudul
What will you do with it?
ericmcdonald
The town should basically be a cryptoanarchist haven. We could put in servers, run fiber optic lines, set up mesh networks, the possibilities are endless. Basically if we're the local government, we don't have to deal with the red tape involved with having a local government
BenjiWiebe
Tax in Bitcoin or other crypto currencies. Native IPv6. Symmetric fiber internet connection. Count me in.
tlb
To pick one of many red flags: if they bid for the town and lose to a higher bidder (price might be around $2M), "There is no refund mechanism coded into the contract per se; this does not mean refunds will never be possible, though."

That seems like the sort of eventuality one should think through in advance.

al2o3cr
Is the "binding arbitration" section a common thing in Ethereum contracts? IANAL, but it seems like participants are agreeing that if shit goes sideways they (#1) can only seek arbitration which (#14) they have to pay for which can (#12) not pay money damages - and which (#9) they're never allowed to talk about.
ericmcdonald
Thankfully, people have torn this source code to shreds. The good news is, the constructive criticism will allow me to update the code and release a new contract by the end of this weekend, stay tuned! Thank reason for open-source code!
drivingmenuts
Is that the entire plan? Purchase a town with Ethereum?

I think our president at least supplied a bullet pointed one-sheet with his tax plan.

atomical
Why not convert to USD after a token sale and use that money to buy the town? Smart contracts are a solution searching for a problem. To date no one has done anything even remotely impressive with smart contracts except lose tons of money.