Liberland is a sovereign state between Croatia and Serbia on the west bank of the Danube. It is the first micronation to accept Bitcoin back in 2015, fulfilling the purpose of its President Vít Jedlička, who is responsible for this “piece” of geography, diplomacy and sovereignty. Liberland is, as Jedlička affirms, “the freest nation in the world” and upholds the ideals of freedom for its citizens.
Joey Langenbrunner, Deputy Representative of the Free Republic of Liberland in the United States of America, stated during the interview that Jedlička went online to search for “unclaimed land”. He came to realize that a small island in the middle of the Danube was unclaimed, so he purposely went there on April 13, 2015 – Thomas Jefferson’s birthday.
On April 13, 2022, the Free Republic of Liberland celebrated the seventh anniversary of its founding:
Youtube video
Back in 2015, President Jedlička began accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, partly in hopes of bringing diverse investors to the country and expanding business opportunities based on Bitcoin’s decentralized and sovereignty-preserving philosophy.
Last November, the Liberland Aid Foundation donated more than one bitcoin to the Benjamin Bloom National Children’s Hospital to show that bitcoin can unite countries without restrictions.
Langenbrunner explained that when President Jedlička visited El Salvador in November 2021 for the Adopting Bitcoin Lightning Summit, he actually crossed the border into El Salvador by presenting his passport from Liberland and they stamped it.
During our interview, Langenbrunner explained how difficult it was to open an official bank account for a sovereign country – but Bitcoin was the way they were able to raise much of their funding and also manage their financial affairs.
Langenbrunner explained the reason they are here today is because of this funding as most of the money that is coming in is bitcoin. He said they found ways to do PayPal and other platforms but that they gave them problems.
He added that they are “extremely optimistic” not only about everyone associated with the country, but also about bitcoiners who know the country can only do this through bitcoin.
He also mentioned that Liberland needed to increase its wealth back in 2015 and that is why Liberland introduced Bitcoin as its main reserve asset. People who were early into bitcoin could also see the potential future of the nation. In addition, he mentioned the game theory that the price goes up and more people participate, which increases adoption. “Our country’s reserves,” he said, are “rising,” meaning they will have more funds for more projects like those in El Salvador.
Langenbrunner also stated that they actually built their first physical settlement in Serbia, which borders their land. However, it could be seen as a government-in-exile.
Bitcoiners need a state to call home. Naturally, as there is a need in the market, owning territory becomes insurance against outside forces. This particular case is in Europe, but this could have happened anywhere in the world because there is a demand from people involved with bitcoin who have this type of mentality and value these freedom-loving ideals.
Finally, like Bukele, Langenbrunner pointed to the dream of possibly building Alexandrian cities for Bitcoiners, where they can feel at home and protected.
Sources
Liberland.org
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/02/18/welcome-liberland-nation-bitcoin-built/
This is a guest post by Gaby Vivas. The opinions expressed are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
