Liberland is a sovereign state located between Croatia and Serbia on the west bank of the Danube River. It is the first micronation to have accepted Bitcoin back in 2015, accomplishing the purpose of its president, Vít Jedlička, the one responsible for this "slice" of geography, diplomacy and sovereignty. Liberland, as Jedlička assures, stands as "the freest nation in the world” and maintains the ideals of liberty for its citizens.
Joey Langenbrunner, deputy representative of The Free Republic of Liberland to the United States of America, explained during the interview that Jedlička went online to look for “unclaimed land.” He came to the realization that a small island in the middle of the Danube River was unclaimed, so he went there purposely on April 13, 2015 — Thomas Jefferson's birthday.
On April 13, 2022, the Free Republic of Liberland celebrated the seventh anniversary of its founding:
Back in 2015 President Jedlička began accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies partly in hopes of bringing different investors to the country, and to grow business opportunities founded on Bitcoin’s decentralized and sovereignty-protecting philosophies.
Last November, The Liberland Aid Foundation donated more than one bitcoin to the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital to show that bitcoin can unify countries without restrictions.
Langenbrunner explained that when they visited El Salvador in November 2021 for the Adopting Bitcoin Lightning Summit, President Jedlička 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 create an official bank account for a sovereign country — but bitcoin was the way that they were able to acquire much of their funding and to also manage their financial affairs.
Langenbrunner explained the reason why they are here today is because of that funding, as most of the money that comes in is bitcoin. He said they’d found ways to do PayPal and other platforms but that they gave them problems.
He added that they’re “extremely bullish” not only on everyone who's involved with the country but on Bitcoiners that know the only way the country can do this, is through bitcoin.
He also mentioned that back in 2015, Liberland needed to increase its assets and that's why Liberland adopted bitcoin as its main reserve asset. People who got involved with Bitcoin early on could also see the potential future of the nation. In addition he mentioned the game theory of the price going up and more people getting involved, thus increasing adoption. “Our country's reserves,” he said, “are going up” which means they will have more funding for more projects, like those happening in El Salvador.
Langenbrunner also stated that they had 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 that they can call home. Because there's a need in the market, naturally the ownership of territory will become insurance against outside forces. This particular instance is in Europe, but this could have happened anywhere in the world because there is a demand from people involved with Bitcoin who hold this type of mentality and cherish these freedom-loving ideals.
Finally, Langenbrunner, like Bukele, referred to the dream of possibly building Alexandrian cities for Bitcoiners, where they can feel at home and protected.
Sources
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/02/18/welcome-liberland-nation-bitcoin-built/
This is a guest post by Gaby Vivas. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.