The tiny ‘nation’ with no rules or taxes where you can buy a passport for £3,900
This tiny ‘nation' has no rules or taxes, with Bitcoin as a currency, and you can buy a passport for £3,900.
Between the countries of Croatia and Serbia sits the tiny micronation, one of the world’s smallest countries, which is roughly the same size as Gibraltar. It boasts having no rules or taxes, with its only currency being Bitcoin.
In fact, it was a virtual island created in the metaverse, and is yet to be fully realised in the flesh.
Liberland - officially the Free Republic of Liberland - is a 700 hectare micronation that sits on an island between Croatia and Serbia, which has not been claimed by either country.
The area, mostly covered with in forest and on the floodplain from the Danube river, was left unused and unclaimed by the two countries after the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s, an area known as “terra nullius” - or “territory without a master”. It was originally part of Serbia but Croatia refused to take it. That being said, they also did not want people living there, so they arrested and fined anyone who made the attempt.
Yet, the physical nation is yet to be properly realised. It was first built virtually in the metaverse. Before construction started, people could only buy land and set up businesses in a virtual world with cryptocurrency, using specific Blockchain technology. The metaverse is designed to look similar to the real-life Liberland, with a lake surrounding the island with trees and greenery as well as futuristic buildings.
Born out of a collaboration between Liberland, Zaha Hadid Architects, Mytaverse and ArchAgenda, the Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher said the island will "function as a free standing virtual reality realm in its own right".
"The ambition is for it to become the go-to site for networking and collaboration within the burgeoning web 3.0 industry," he continued. "It's the metaverse for metaverse developers and the crypto ecosystem at large."
Island remained uninhabited until 2015, when Czech right-libertarian politician and activist Vit Jedlička proclaimed it as a country and became the president. He was inspired by classical liberal thinkers and envisioned a political system characterised by laissez-faire capitalism, minimal government and a cryptocurrency-based economy.
The motto of the micronation is: “To Live and Let Live” and plans to turn the island into the "freest country in the world", according to Liberland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thomas Walls, including no gun controls.
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We have settlers on the ground, with new ones arriving every day. Now is the time to build. Now is the time to claim your future. ??????⚒️
— Liberland (@Liberland_org) September 18, 2023
Join us ?????? https://t.co/hS0ddT8Arf#SettleLiberland pic.twitter.com/CV1YFeKECQ
Jedlička built a community, unveiled a flag, coat of arms, national anthem and cryptocurrency, called Liberland merit.
About half a million people have signed up for a Liberland passport, which costs about $5,000 - or £3,900 - as of December 2023, making them official citizens without stepping foot on the island. However, as Liberland is not an officially recognised country, it cannot be used for travel, according to SovSpot.
In fact, Liberland has not received diplomatic recognition from any of the 193 United Nations members.
In August 2023, after eight years of disputes, Liberland opened to let islanders start building a physical city. Thomas Walls was one of the first few people to enter the nation. He told The Sun: "It’s quite exciting and I’m proud to say I was part of the first wave of Liberlanders to go in when the crossing was opened.
"It had been my dream to set foot in Liberland, and I did so on that day."
Walls is said to be leading delegations with countries in Latin and North America, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and the US, with other diplomats working hard in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A few micronations – the Kingdom of Enclava, the Kingdom of North Sudan, and the Principality of Sealand – have expressed support for the idea of Liberland.
A Yacht house, pub, radio station, and working internet were established, with plans in the works for a school and hotel. They even held a wedding and had a string of christmas and new year’s celebrations.
However, this was brought to an end on September 21, 2023, as Croatian police launched an intervention. During the police action, some makeshift wooden buildings, which the Liberland supporters had constructed earlier, were taken down.
Liberland does, however, have big plans for the future. Speaking to The Sun in January, Walls said: "In five years, we aspire to have a thriving, vibrant community that interacts peacefully with our immediate neighbours, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and other countries on the Danube River”.
“In twenty years, I foresee Liberland being a fully accepted member of the community of nations, prospering and inspiring people to live in freedom and peace wherever they are in the world.
“If we inspire a dozen other Liberlands, we will have been doing our job."