Disembarking from the Liberty houseboat, we were met by a pair of Serbian police officers, their lit squad car nearly blinding us in the dark forest. They quickly asked us how many people were staying on the boat, and my colleague from Reuters replied that he didn’t recall. Fortunately, they let us go, and we had to run using phone lights to navigate the muddy path to the rally point in Croatia.
As we made our way, we realized that we were just meters from the border of Liberland, an unrecognized micronation of crypto fans claiming a piece of land between Croatia and Serbia on the Danube river. The area was roughly the size of Gibraltar, and the “president” Vít Jedlička explained that it had not officially been claimed by either neighboring country, making it terra nullius — nobody’s land — when he planted a flag there on April 13, 2015.
Liberland has attracted a sizable community of Libertarian-minded individuals, and it has become an intriguing project. The de facto home in exile in Liberland is Ark Liberty Village, a nearby campground on the Serbian side. It’s here that Magazine attends Floating Man, a Liberland festival that includes wilderness and water survival training, music, a two-day blockchain conference, and a daring visit to Gornja Siga, also called Liberland.
Getting into the independent state is a challenge, as Jedlička explains that “It’s good to get in and out of Liberland without being beat up.” The president even takes the time to explain the best ways to enter the micronation on the map, including warnings about the routes and strategies to avoid interception by the border patrols of neighboring countries.
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After learning about the risks, some of the attendees decide to take different routes into Liberland. Some plan to travel by boat, while others opt to use jet skis to distract the border patrols. The whole operation feels like a military mission, bringing a sense of adventure and daring to the journey.
From an international law perspective, the validity of Liberland’s claims has been a point of contention, as it depends on the theory of state recognition considered. Despite the legal challenges, Liberland is still moving forward in its development.
Jedlička, the president, explains that attracting blockchain companies is a key part of the micronation’s strategy. The goal is to offer a low-regulatory jurisdiction with only “voluntary taxes” just off Europe, directly accessible via the Danube river. Anyone willing to pay $150 for an e-residency can become a member of Liberland, while citizenship requires 5,000 Liberland Merits (LLM) or can be earned via contributing to the project.
Furthermore, the governance token of Liberland, the LLM, has already attracted attention from the Polkadot ecosystem, with potential plans for inclusion in the network. This aligns with the beliefs of the participants, who share similar views on how money should work, and the role of a decentralized governance system.
As we waited at the Hungarian border, the complications caused frustration but also sparked conversations about the potential the Liberland project holds for the future. Despite the challenges and risks, the journey to Liberland was filled with a sense of adventure and the promise of something new and different.
