Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, has been elected as the new prime minister of Liberland, a European micronation that claims 99% of its reserves in Bitcoin.
This small ‘micronation’ situated on the Croatian side of the Danube River declared the news on its official website after conducting a vote through blockchain. The election was conducted by the seven-member congress of Liberland, which represents the nation’s 1,000 residents.
Sun takes over from Vít Jedlička, a Czech politician who founded Liberland back in 2015. Sun’s campaign focused on the idea of Liberland as a hub of libertarianism, much like Vatican City, which is for Catholics. Apart from Sun, Evan Luthra and Jillian Godsil were also elected. It is worth noting that Sun and Luthra are newcomers to the political scene in Liberland.
Liberland has a rather decentralized system with seven members of Congress that represent approximately one thousand residents of the country. Following the organization’s crypto-focused principles, Sun was elected on the 6th of October through a blockchain-based voting process.
Bitcoin dominates Liberland’s reserves
However, Liberland is not recognized by any of the United Nations member states, and its neighboring countries, Croatia and Serbia, reject the state’s existence. Some people have even speculated that the micronation could be a publicity stunt.
Nevertheless, Liberland is still trying to get recognized diplomatically, with attempts to gain the favor of Argentina, El Salvador, and Somaliland. Even Argentina’s president publicly praised Liberland.
Liberland is funded mainly by donations and it also sells passports, stamps, and coins. Almost all of it is invested in Bitcoin, while its native currency, the Liberland dollar token ($LLD), is already traded on decentralized exchanges.
Liberland’s status remains contentious. It is situated in the floodplain between Serbia and Croatia and was declared a disputed area because of the ongoing conflict between them.
Sun’s new position as the prime minister is his second diplomatic post after being appointed as the ambassador to the World Trade Organization for Grenada from 2021 to 2023. His role in Liberland is still rather undefined, but Sun has said that he wants to apply the principle of small government to the rest of the world. Sun points out that Liberland has no taxes, is a voluntary government, and is a laissez-faire state, which may become a model for other countries.
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