All posts tagged: micronation

Crypto Bro and Alleged Fraudster Appointed Leader of a Tiny “Micronation” in Eastern Europe

Crypto Bro and Alleged Fraudster Appointed Leader of a Tiny “Micronation” in Eastern Europe

What happens in Liberland stays in Liberland. Liber Free A crypto bro who’s been accused of fraud has just become one of the most powerful men in a 2.7-square-mile, self-proclaimed “micronation” of Liberland. As Quartz reports, crypto network Tron founder Justin Sun was elected this week in a so-called “blockchain-based election” as the Speaker of Congress for the tiny state wedged on previously unclaimed wetlands between Croatia and Serbia. Shortly thereafter, the disputed country‘s Czech-born right-wing libertarian president and founder Vít Jedlička nominated Sun to be the country’s prime minister as well, effectively putting him in charge of two of Liberland’s three most powerful positions. “The election process, governed by a simple set of rules, was entirely algorithmic, providing transparency,” reads a statement from Liberland’s spokespeople, per Cointelegraph. “This system has a unique ability to eliminate doubt regarding election outcomes, a challenge faced by many countries still relying on traditional methods.” Yes, we’re aware that this all sounds like madlibs — and reader, we’re just getting started. Baby Country Sun, as Quartz notes, gained notoriety in the crypto …

Westarctica: The micronation with a real-world purpose

Westarctica: The micronation with a real-world purpose

Marie Byrd Land, in Antarctica, was named after the wife of the American explorer Richard E. Byrd Jr. He must not have liked her very much, because even by the harsh standards of the South Pole, this land is inaccessible and inhospitable, cold, and unforgiving. The desolation of Marie Byrd Land. Image taken by NASA during Operation IceBridge (2018/19), the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice ever flown. (Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger, public domain). The wedge-shaped area, bounded by 60 degrees south, 90 degrees west, and 150 degrees west, is about 620,000 square miles (1.6 million km2), more than twice the size of Texas. Yet it hosts no permanent research stations and is not claimed by any nation. Seven countries each have staked a claim to a slice of Antarctica, but all those claims have been frozen by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, an international agreement to use the continent for peaceful scientific research and not military purposes. Together, those claims cover most of the continent at the bottom of the world — except Marie …