What Problem Does Atlantis Blue Aim to Resolve?
Although Larimar is highly sought after, it is consistently undervalued. A large portion of this comes from the fact that the miners of this precious gem are taken advantage of by exporters from other countries. Visitors come from around the world and buy Larimar with the promise to pay the miners in the future, not when they physically remove the stone.
These exporters only return months later, and then, they pay a much lower price than the gems are truly worth. They also take another shipment of the Larimar stones at the same time. This process results in miners of Larimar waiting months and months to receive an undervalued payment for their stones, without any guarantee that they will ever see the money.
There are also legal issues with the way Larimar was being sold. Under the law, Larimar has to be cut as well as polished before it leaves the country. Despite the legal ramifications, this was almost impossible to enforce since the Larimar community lacked the proper infrastructure.
Finally, Atlantis Blue will work to stop the proliferation of fake Larimar being sold as real via its single central distribution center. These fakes, combined with the poor practices regarding rough Larimar, mean that miners are lucky to see $0.50 per gram and that artisans involved in the process cannot earn their livelihood.
How Does Atlantis Blue Help Miners Receive a Fair Price?
An outsider actually offered the solution to the miners of Larimar, changing the currency to change the buyers by going digital. The previous international buyers who took advantage of the lack of organization in Larimar mining will no longer be able to purchase the gem like this. They can still show up to the location and buy physical Larimar in person, but they will have to pay the most recent trade price found on the Stellar Distributed Exchange. Token holders will be in control of the price, not these international buyers who previously abused the system.
How Does Atlantis Blue Ensure Stones Are Cut and Polished?
To prevent the problems associated with Larimar leaving the country without being cut and polished first, Atlantis Blue will be creating the infrastructure to ensure all Larimar stones go through the proper process. The community will be constructing a receivership warehouse where all the stones will be collected when they leave the mine. At this location, stones will be weighed as well as recorded. The community is also building an artisan camp, which is where the stones will get their legal status, so they can be exported. They will also create the Atlantis Blue Exchange, the single distribution point.
What Are the Tokens, and How Do You Get Them?
There is a total of 400 million tokens, each of which represents one gram of Larimar. During the ICO, 300 million of the tokens will be sold. The first 50 million will be sold at the price of $0.10 each, with the next 50 million sold at $0.20. The following 50 million will have a price of $0.30 each, then $0.40, $0.50, and $0.60 for the next groups of 50 million. As such, the sooner you invest in the ICO, the more tokens you will receive for your contribution.
