Marine Archaeology on the Blockchain
Leveraging blockchain technology to recover and reshape ownership of sunken artifacts from our ocean floors.
WINNER at IDB’s Demand Solutions 2018 
What is PO8
Unearthing artifacts for impact
Driving sustained and inclusive economic growth through underutilized marine resources.
PO8 is a marine archaeology startup utilizing blockchain technology to excavate underutilized sunken treasures and artifacts from ocean floors, generating untapped sources of revenues for funding social programs, creating jobs and jumpstarting local economies – all while protecting our marine habitats.
PO8’s inaugural project will take place in The Bahamas in 2019, with an estimated value of $100B in sunken treasures and artifacts. Expansion markets will include Philippines, Vietnam and Monaco.
power of Blockchain
Tokenization Benefits
Recovered artifacts will be digitized using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), using the ERC-1155 standard on the Ethereum blockchain. NFTs represent the digital ownership of recovered artifacts, with its smart contracts containing unique asset data cryptographically certified, confirming ownership of each physical artifact.
NFTs allow the majority of PO8 recovered artifacts to live on the blockchain and physically remain in the custody of the PO8 Museum Foundation for continued studies by the archaeology community and to be exhibited in various museums worldwide, all while the ownership of the artifact can be from anyone around the world.
PO8 Spotlight
CNBC Interview
Matthew Arnett, CEO of PO8 is using Blockchain to better the lives of his fellow Bahamians, by recovering and reshaping the ownership of sunken treasures and artifacts. PO8 is marine archaeology start-ups that excavates such treasures from the ocean floors to generate unearthed sources of revenue. PO8 CEO Matthew Arnett joins CNBC Africa for more..
Why Blockchain
Restoring Trust on the Blockchain
Blockchain delivers seamless transparency and trust and eliminates mismanagement and corruption. It provides us with the ability to work in line with UNESCO conventions by digitizing recovered artifacts preventing artifact owners from having the physical possession of the artifact but rather a non-fungible token (NFT) representing the artifact and its value.
For example: Jane purchases Artifact X from PO8 for $25,000. Artifact X will continue to remain under the custody of PO8 to be used for educational programs or loaned to museums, while Jane holds the digital token in her possession confirming she is the rightful owner of Artifact X, with a stored value of $25,000. Jane can now store her token in her crypto wallet or upload to the PO8 NFT marketplace to sell her position on Artifact X.
Non Fungible Tokens
The Benefits of NFTs
PROVENANCE
Establishes provenance via smart contracts allowing for tracking and verification of ownership in artifacts and bringing back trust and transparency for our partners, as in the case with the Government of The Bahamas after an 18 year moratorium.
STORED VALUE
Creates a stored value for artifacts through Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs (ERC-1155) living on the Ethereum blockchain.
CUSTODIAL SECURITY LAYER
Physical artifacts to remain with PO8 or approved custodians such as museums, universities and traveling exhibitions to be enjoyed and appreciated by humanity. No longer will artifacts be taken away and hidden in private collections.
BRIDGE TO LIQUIDITY
With a first of its kind curated digital commodity marketplace investors can leverage their artifact backed tokens at any given time. The PO8 marketplace serves as an immediate bridge to liquidity allowing investors to buy or sell their artifact NFTs worldwide.
HOW IT WORKS
A Roadmap to Impact
From search and recovery to preserving and digitizing artifacts, a look at the entire PO8 process for unearthing sunken artifacts and sharing them with the world.
Responsible Blockchain
The PO8 Impact
Many of the countries partnering with PO8 need to inject new streams of revenue to its economy, create a wave of new jobs and launch new industries to enrich the lives of its people. The Bahamas is one of them.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
More local jobs ranging from tech to tourism. From hiring divers during the fishing off season, to creating The Bahamas Archeological Treasure and Maritime Museum, resulting in additional economic activity worth $60 million per annum, and at peak some 100+ jobs.
OCEAN IMPACT
Taking into consideration the current marine habitat of shipwreck sites. PO8 will restore any excavated area with artificial reefs, resulting in new ecosystems and marine life habit.
The PO8 Museum Foundation
Artifacts for Humanity
PO8 is making a $10 million USD investment in its future by establishing in Grand Bahama the first Bahamas Archeological Treasure and Maritime Museum and Interactive Marine Park. Through private and public partnerships, PO8 will transform the visitor experience to the Islands of The Bahamas by positioning to the forefront its historical and education tourism products, exhibitions and cultural programs.
The Wave, a 50,000 sq. ft. building featuring a special exhibition pavilion, conservation area, archaeology labs and interactive center to house artifacts from PO8’s discoveries in The Bahamas. The Wave will become the most iconic building in The Bahamas.
- Exhibition Space: Year round exhibitions providing museum visitors something new to experience.
- Educational Programs: Connect with visitors personally through multilayered art encounters and dynamic digital tools.
- The VR Experience: Nurture conversation between our historical collection, interactive art of sunken shipwrecks and cutting-edge virtual reality.
PO8 Collectibles
Meet Skully, our NFT Collectible
Ahoy me Hearties! Welcome to the world of Skullys reward-based Collectibles, where users from around the world can collect the Skully that best embodies their alter ego. Then embark on a digital gaming journey claiming territory, searching for booty and taking hostages, all while heading back home to Watlings Island. Skullys are the first ever reward-based digital collectible on the blockchain giving players a chance to win a ticket to experience a once in a life adventure – a marine archaeology expedition on the high seas in The Bahamas.
Powered by our PO8 utility token, every Skully has an identity like you, designed uniquely, meaning no else can simultaneously own the same Skully you do. Skullys are old world and new world. A chapter from history blends with the future of art gaming. Skullys are 100% secure on the Ethereum blockchain.
COLLECT THEM
Purchase your favorite pirate Skully collectible from our NFT marketplace or on select digital collectible NFT marketplaces like Rarebits and Openseas.
PLANT & DEFEND YOUR FLAG
Players can claim virtual locations worldwide by geo tagging and planting their own Skully flags, earning tradable PO8 tokens.
COLLECT YOUR BOOTY
The real fun starts when Skullys go head-to-head against other fellow Skullys, defending or capturing the planted flags and its corresponding treasure booty.
ACCESSORIZE YOUR SKULLY
Use your earned PO8 tokens to dress up your Skully. The more accessories, the higher your ranking, and the more earning power your Skully receives.
Security Token Sale
The STO Offering
Unlike our PO8 utility token, PO8’s Security Token Offering (STO) provides investors an opportunity to become equity investors in the company through the purchase of common stock-backed security tokens known as SPO8. Each SPO8 token equals one (1) PO8 common stock. Regulated by The Securities Commission of The Bahamas, our STO is currently only open to investors outside The Bahamas.
- Token Symbol SPO8
- Token Sale Start 8 March 2019
- Custodian LENO Corporate Services Ltd. (Bahamas)
- Offering 10,000,000
- Security Token Price $5.00 USD
- Authorized STO 50,000,000
- Min Investment $10,000
- Target Price $15.00 USD
Token Allocation
Operating Allocation
TIMELINE
Road Map
A tentative roadmap of our journey from concept to impact.
2017 Q3
Launch
- Established Bahamian Corporation
- Head office in Grand Bahama
2017 Q4
Development
- Granted salvage license by Government of The Bahamas
- Research shipwreck sites
- White paper completion
2018 Q1
Design
- PO8 token smart contracts complete
- Creation of Non-fungible Token templates
2018 Q2
Capital Raise, Round 1
- Private financing & seed funding raised
2018 Q3
Staffing
- Dr. David Gallo (TITANIC) joins team
- Select Salvage partners
2018 Q4
PO8 Global Tour
- STO Investor & Community Tour
- Winner at Demand Solutions, Chile
2019 Q1
Exploration, Phase 1
- Research, survey and mobilization
2019 Q2
Capital Raise, Round 2
- Security Token Offering ends
- Exchange listing after audit
2019 Q3
PO8 Museum Foundation
- Announce Executive Board of Directors
- Collect construction bids for museum
2019 Q4
Exploration , Phase 2
- Submersible drones carry out recovery tasks
- Divers deployed
2020 Q1
Expansion
- Announce new target sites within The Bahamas
- Enter new international markets
Meet The Team
The PO8 All Stars
Meet our global all star team with expertise in blockchain technology, oceanography, marine archaeology, marine salvage, marketing, finance, legal, etc. All passionate about impact.
Advisors
Don Cornish
Board AdvisorMinistry of Local Government, West Grand Bahama, Bahamas
Garry Smith
Board AdvisorBahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporations (BAIC)
Theo Burrows
Board AdvisorPartner, Graham Thompson, The Bahamas
Frederick Arnett
Board AdvisorThe Nature Conservancy, The Bahamas
Jun Hao
Board AdvisorFounder, BlockConnectors, Singapore
Jin Jiahao
Board AdvisorVenture Capitalist, Partner at Sequoia Capital China
Photo Gallery
PO8 Global Tour
Faq
Frequently asked questions
Below we’ve provided you with some of the most common asked questions by our ever growing community and investor prospects. Still haven’t answered your question? Be sure to send us a message in the form below and we’ll get it answered for you.
It was 18 years ago that a moratorium was put into place to stop the mismanagement and illegal activities around the shipwreck archeology industry. Today many Bahamians and foreigners are still illegally destroying reefs, seabed and artifacts. There are no proper industry standards, codes of conduct, policing or best practices.
Additionally, The Bahamas needs to inject new streams of revenue to it’s economy, creating a wave of new jobs and launching new industries to enrich the lives of its people. Current industries like the financial services and fisheries are shrinking resulting in less career opportunities for all Bahamians.
The Bahamas, because of it’s strategic location, shallow waters and tropical climate sits on $100B USD of underutilized resources in the form of shipwrecks including underwater culture heritage artifacts and treasures. Unearthing these resources would create social and economic impact for the region.
Working in tandem with the Government of The Bahamas, PO8 has been given the exclusive marine salvage license to excavate in Bahamian waters and use its blockchain technology to restore full transparency on all future shipwreck expeditions.
Putting these underutilized assets to work, PO8 is driving sustained and inclusive economic growth to the Bahamas. PO8 will hire divers during the lobster off season, and The PO8 Foundation, the custodial recipient of many of the artifacts, will create the Bahamas Archeological Treasure and Maritime Museum bringing additional economic activity worth $60 million per annum, and at peak some 100+ jobs.
PO8 will also restore any excavated area with artificial reefs, resulting in new ecosystems and marine life habit.
Our business model is primarily based on economic, social and sustainable impact. We partner with governments whereby they invest in policy and we provide technology and industry knowhow, thus creating a partnership with revenue share to benefit local economies.
We sell B2B and B2C. All of the big data is leased to gaming companies, mapping companies and R&D teams. Our visual content will be contracted with production companies like Netflix, Discovery Channel, etc. On our NFT marketplace we sell directly to consumers, earning revenues on transactions and commission. At the museums, we will have numerous revenue streams like, entrance tickets, retail sales, tours and F&B. Our educational products are a paid service for enterprises, but free for the general public. We also sell our exhibition services to museums and venues all over the world.
Our market size is a hybrid between public and private marine artifact salvage & conservation. The local Bahamian market size is around $100 Billion. Keep in mind the world has over 3 million shipwrecks.
No, you are not. The PO8 Foundation will take custody of all the artifacts for continued studies by the archaeology community and to be exhibited in various museums worldwide. You keep the non-fungible token (think digital title) with the value of the asset.
For example: Tom buys an artifact appraised for $25,000. Once payment is confirmed, Tom receives his non-fungible token (NFT) on his Ethereum cryptocurrency wallet. The NFT value is $25,000 and it represents the ownership of the artifact. Let's say a year later Tom decides to sell because he needs money for his son's college expenses. Tom can now upload that token to PO8 or a third party's NFT exchange to sell his token. Tom can then decide to sell his NFT at the price he sees fit.
Yes, you can but it is a requirement. You can use other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on the PO8 NFT Marketplace. Users will be able to save on certain transaction fees if holding PO8 tokens in their cryptocurrency wallets.
No, we are a private start-up working on blockchain solutions for real problems governments are facing today.
For our first use case, we are working with The Bahamas. We have been endorsed by senior members of government, and we are the first marine salvage company to receive a salvage license from the government after an 18 years moratorium.
In the event we do not recover any treasures, we will have built a blockchain ecosystem available for many other archaeological endeavors worldwide. The same technologies powering search and rescue for shipwrecks and buried treasures can be used for finding other lost objects and perhaps solving some of our longest unsolved mysteries. Our open source decentralized apps will also provide individuals and enterprises with more cost effective and secure ways of distributing valuable assets.
Using blockchain technology, we will recover underwater treasures from Bahamian waters, as a way to help governments tap underutilized resources that can be monetized, generating more revenues for social programs, creating jobs and jumpstarting local economies. Blockchain allows for more transparency after an 18-year moratorium, and retools the financial services industry to service jobs in the blockchain space.
Blockchain delivers seamless transparency and trust and eliminates mismanagement and corruption, giving us the ability to work in line with UNESCO conventions by digitalizing recovered assets so that the owners will not have to possess the physical artifact but rather a non-fungible token representing the artifact and its value.
Furthermore, blockchain is the perfect compromise between the archeology community and commercial interest groups. Non Fungible Tokens on the Etheruem blockchain will allow for the the majority of PO8 artifacts to physically remain in the custody of the PO8 Foundation for continued studies by the archaeology community and to be exhibited in various museums worldwide, while the ownership of the asset can be from anyone around the the world.
Recovered artifacts and treasure will be digitized with the help of our physical-to-digital link service providers. This will include high resolution scans or nanotechnology featuring industrial-grade diamond dust capable of creating unclonable signatures for each unique physical artifact we digitize. Digitized artifacts will live on the blockchain using the Etheruem ERC-1155 protocol. Once on the blockchain, each physical asset will be represented by a distinguishable NFT that will have a smart contract containing unique asset data cryptographically certified, confirming ownership of the physical asset.
An NFT is a Non Fungible Token. Think of an NFT like a digital certificate confirming ownership of a physical asset or artifact in our case. So you, as the owner of an NFT holds the stored value of the asset, which you can either keep in your digital wallet or sell the token on an NFT exchange/marketplace.
NFTs are created by using ERC-1155 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Each distinguishable NFT has a smart contract containing unique asset data cryptographically certified, confirming ownership of the physical asset. NFTs will allow for the the majority of PO8 artifacts to live on the blockchain and physically remain in the custody of the PO8 Foundation for continued studies by the archaeology community and to be exhibited in various museums worldwide, while the ownership of the asset can be from anyone around the the world.
NFTs will be tradable on our own marketplace exchange launching in 2019. Marketplace users will be able to buy, sell and auction their NFTs on the platform, creating immediate liquidity for users.
Correct, in Q2 2018 we launched an ICO for PO8, where we were able to secure funds from early private investors. Given the downturn of the cryptocurrency market for most of 2018, we determined the best direction for the company and its early investors is to pivot our fundraising approach into a security token offering or STO.
Our early 2019 STO will provide investors with equity investment opportunities in the company in the form of company stock backed tokens, compliant with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.
All previous investors who received PO8 utility tokens will have the option keep their tokens or exchange to the new security token version. New exchange details and conversion rates will be announced at the conclusion of the STO.
Each PO8 security token or SPO8 equals one (1) registered common share of Pieces of 8 Marine Salvage of The Bahamas Ltd.
This means your security token is asset backed and can become liquid at any given moment once investor sells on the secondary market.
Token owners will be eligible to receive company dividends as the company sees fits. Information on dividends earnings are yet to be determined.
Our STO is regulated by The Securities Commission of The Bahamas.
No. SPO8 tokens are backed by common stock. Unliked preferred stock, common stock does not include voting powers.
PO8 is currently in negotiations with the top licensed security token exchanges to list SPO8.
Any wallet supporting ERC 20 tokens such as MyEtherWallet or Metamask, among others.
Yes, it is mandatory. Please make sure you register and provide all required KYC documentation.
No. DO NOT use a cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Huobi or others. You MUST send from an ERC 20 compatible wallet such as MyEtherWallet or Metamask.
$10,000 USD
Our STO is open to all nationalities and investors must comply with local jurisdictions. Bahamian Nationals are restricted from this offering.
Cryptico - is unique platform; that is secure, smart and easy-to-use platform, and completely disrupting the way businesses raise capital.
Cryptico - is unique platform; that is secure, smart and easy-to-use platform, and completely disrupting the way businesses raise capital.
Cryptico - is unique platform; that is secure, smart and easy-to-use platform, and completely disrupting the way businesses raise capital.
Cryptico - is unique platform; that is secure, smart and easy-to-use platform, and completely disrupting the way businesses raise capital.
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