Liberland, a micro-country in Eastern Europe covering only 7 square kilometers, claimed to have held a "parliamentary" election through blockchain technology on October 6, 2024. Sun Yuchen, founder of the blockchain platform TRON Network, was elected as the "Speaker of Parliament" and was also appointed as the "Acting Prime Minister" by "President" Vít Jedlička.
In addition, former Croatian MP Ivan Pernar, Indian investor Evan Luthra, and Irish media person Jillian Godsil were also elected to the "Congress". Jillian Godsil wrote that the election process is absolutely transparent and can be used as a reference for many countries.
Liberland was originally called "Upper Siga", bordering the Danube River to the east and Croatia to the west. In 2000, Croatia and Serbia, former members of the Yugoslav Federation, had a dispute over the division of the old and new Danube rivers. In order to gain more territory, both countries gave up Upper Siga, resulting in this land being unclaimed for many years.
A YouTube video shows that on April 13, 2015, Czech politician and social activist Jedlicka and two friends came here and announced the establishment of the Free Republic of Liberland, with English as the official language. In the past 10 years, the legal sovereignty of Liberland has been widely questioned internationally and has not been recognized by any country so far, but it claims to maintain good relations with Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Serbia and Somaliland.
Since Croatia will not open its border to Liberland until August 2023, Liberland is still in the early stages of development, with the construction of the first government building and the first tree house resort just beginning. Therefore, the "citizens" almost do not live here.
Liberland claims to be a physical country based on blockchain, open to naturalization and settlement to all people who are physically and mentally healthy, respect personal rights, opinions and private property, and have no criminal record or Nazi background.
Liberland currently has 1,052 "citizens", nearly 4,000 "electronic citizens", 91 registered companies, and has received 756,958 passport applications. Applicants can obtain "citizen" status for $10,100. Liberland also grants "governance tokens" to those who have made significant contributions to local development. Those who have accumulated 5,000 tokens will automatically become "citizens". "Governance tokens" can also be used to exercise political rights, participate in elections and vote, with a total of no more than 70 million.
Electronic citizens can access encrypted communication services, start businesses in Liberland and manage them remotely. Applicants can become electronic citizens for a minimum of $150 and receive 25 governance tokens.
Tether, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and "governance tokens" are all legal local currencies, and any goods and services can be purchased through a unified software. According to Jedlicka, Liberland positions itself as a European tax haven, with minimal government intervention and no mandatory taxation, in order to attract individuals and companies seeking tax benefits. Almost all funds are invested in digital assets such as Bitcoin and virtual land.
In recent years, the geopolitical situation, inflationary pressure, dollar risk, and the concept of "metaverse" have made Liberland very attractive in the cryptocurrency circle. However, due to its lack of recognition by the international community, its future status as a tax haven is full of uncertainty.
Qian Zhimin, the mastermind behind the "43 billion yuan illegal fund-raising" of BlueSky Green and the main culprit of the largest Bitcoin money laundering case in the UK, had planned to invest in Liberland when he was evading arrest. He originally planned to obtain diplomatic immunity after being elected as the "leader" and building the largest Buddhist temple and airport in Europe in the country. Qian Zhimin was found guilty of money laundering in the second instance of the British court and faces more than 6 years in prison.
Like other "cryptocurrency celebrities" who evade government regulation and taxation, Sun Yuchen is also a controversial figure. According to information from various cryptocurrency platforms, his net worth is at least $1.4 billion, and the highest is $7 billion in September 2021. "Acting Prime Minister" is his second official title. From 2021 to 2023, he was appointed Ambassador of the Central American country of Grenada to the World Trade Organization.
Public information shows that Sun Yuchen, 34, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is a serial entrepreneur. His early products include the mobile social application "Peiwo". He is also known as a "marketing master" because of his ability to take advantage of hot topics. On May 10 this year, he released a video calling on the outside world to give Jia Yueting a chance and declared that he was willing to invest in Jia Yueting to build a personal IP company.
Cryptocurrency embodies the core principle of decentralization of blockchain technology. Its operation without central control has aroused concerns among financial and monetary regulators in various countries. Its characteristics such as large price fluctuations have also created favorable conditions for organized criminals to speculate and transfer illegal assets.
In 2017, seven Chinese ministries and commissions halted all types of token issuance and financing activities, and those that had been completed were required to be cleared. Sun Yuchen went to the United States on September 4 of that year and stayed overseas for a long time. According to the American technology media (The Verge), Sun Yuchen evaded government supervision by changing his citizenship in multiple countries and opening bank accounts around the world.
In March 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Justin Sun and his company, accusing them of manipulating the price of Tron tokens and conspiring to distribute billions of crypto assets, while artificially inflating trading volumes to attract investors, and coordinating money laundering transactions on unregistered trading platforms.
Earlier this year, Sun Yuchen asked a New York court to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit on the grounds that the SEC failed to prove that the court had jurisdiction over him as a non-US citizen. Subsequently, the SEC amended the indictment, saying that Sun Yuchen had been staying in the United States for a "long time" for many years. For example, in 2019, he stayed in New York, Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco for a total of about 180 days. Although Sun Yuchen is not a US citizen, he did relevant live broadcasts in the TRON office in San Francisco, which is also a clear basis for exercising jurisdiction.
In June 2023, the SEC charged Changpeng Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and founder of Binance, with 13 charges including illegal operation of a digital asset derivatives exchange. Changpeng Zhao subsequently pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and was eventually sentenced to four months in prison. He was released from prison on September 29 this year. He ranks 25th on the Forbes Global Rich List with a net worth of more than $60 billion.
