Mario Carey, founder of Better Homes and Gardens MCR Real Estate, and Mario Carey Ventures, urges teaching blockchain, digital asset and carbon credit finance in schools to enable young Bahamians to benefit from the world of new currencies increasingly prevalent in real estate and other business transactions as well as peer-to-peer payments.
Leading businessman Mario Carey lauds government for crypto framework, urges major shift in school curriculum to teach modern finance
A leading businessman, real estate broker and innovative thinker today lauded government for what he called “taking the lead in the digital asset world” and urged a major overhaul of school curriculum to prepare young Bahamians to understand and benefit from the rapidly changing world of finance.
“In The Bahamas, we’ve got one foot in the exciting new 21 century world of digital or virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies and soon to be carbon credits, and another foot dragging behind in the last century with students coming out of school, both public and private, with little or no understanding about fiscal responsibility or the dynamic world of changing currencies,” said Mario Carey, founder of Mario Carey Ventures (MCV).
“Where education in new currencies is available, there are Bahamians taking advantage of it and benefitting from it,” said Mr. Carey. “One example is Michael Clare, who holds a master’s degree in blockchain finance and as a result not only holds a significant position in a private equity firm, but has become an in-demand public speaker at financial events.”
Mr. Carey, who has handled more than $2 billion in real estate transactions over a 35-year career, launched MCV a year ago to generate, nurture and support socially responsible business ideas. He remains active in the real estate firm he founded, Better Homes and Gardens MCR Real Estate, which has signed on to an international platform allowing buyers and sellers of residential, resort and commercial property to handle transactions in cryptocurrency.
“The market cap on crypto is now up to $3 trillion. It is growing at a rate of more than seven percent a year and while current figures fluctuate from just under one billion dollars in US currency to closer to $2 billion, experts project that the crypto market will hit $32 billion in five years,” said Mr. Carey. “You cannot deny the power of those projections nor how the growth of that sector will impact finance as we know it, especially since COVID with traditional banks pulling back from lending and interest rates climbing again.”
Mr. Carey applauded government.
“I applaud the government and all those who contributed to The Bahamas taking the lead in the digital asset world, creating the progressive legislative and policy framework that enticed a company like FTX to open its headquarters in Nassau,” said Mr. Carey. “It is incredible when you consider how small we are and what we did. But the benefits must extend beyond those of us in real estate and development. This is the new world, and it is essential for others to be part of it. That means starting with opening the eyes of young Bahamians to a whole new arena in which they are uniquely positioned to play a role.”
“What we are experiencing at this moment is more than a paradigm shift, it’s like an exploding fault in the earth and if you are on the fault line, still thinking your future is in the hands of a banker sitting in a brick and mortar building, you would do well to investigate how businesses are financing their expansion, investors are enjoying success and asset or private wealth managers are building value for their clients,” said Mr. Carey. “Yes, there are risks, but you take a risk every time you cross the street.” While the value of a particular type of crypto can spike and fall like a roller coaster, those who apply it to real estate do not go along for the ride because the currency represents a form of payment which remains at a fixed price.
The businessman who specializes in high end properties and holds the record for sales in Ocean Club Estates, Paradise Island, is also urging a revamp of the insurance industry, declaring that it, too, is caught in a time warp.
“For all our complaints, and there are plenty, The Bahamas has taken the lead in a number of areas – more than 50 years ago, creating a land and sea park that was the first of its kind in the world, in 2009, banning the taking of sea turtles, a few years later, becoming a shark sanctuary. We are the busiest cruise port in the Caribbean and in the past few years hosted the inaugural sailing of the world’s three largest ships. These are remarkable feats when you consider how small we are as a nation, and now we are on the precipice of the next new thing, a revolution in finance, and I just want to suggest strongly that we upgrade and update our education experience so everyone has an opportunity to benefit and is equipped with enough information to get in the game, not sit on the sidelines nor straddle the centuries wondering where to turn to get on with life and enjoy success.”