A cryptocurrency entrepreneur has unveiled plans to build a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, complete with a gas-powered flaming torch. The $420 million project, proposed by Ross Calvin, founder of crypto mining firm Parhelion Digital, would transform the former prison island into a museum of technological breakthroughs and lush gardens.
Calvin envisions the monument as a counterpart to the Statue of Liberty, proclaiming American values to the world. He hopes to fast-track the proposal with the Trump administration, which he believes will be receptive given the president's background in real estate and his stated desire to build monuments to American heroes.
The plan faces significant hurdles, including convincing the federal government to surrender control of a tourist destination that generates approximately $60 million in annual revenue. Alcatraz, part of the National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, attracts about 1.2 million visitors each year.
Calvin's politics blend right-wing populism with libertarian and multiculturalist views. He has expressed admiration for the tactics of historical freedom fighters and has criticised identity politics, while also supporting multiculturalism and the recent election of a democratic socialist mayor in New York.
The project would be funded by a private, for-profit fund composed of real estate and crypto assets, with interest already reported from major investors, including those in the Middle East. Calvin claims he has already sent a letter to President Trump via a contact at Mar-a-Lago.
