short
- Liberland awarded Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin its highest award during ETH Prague 2026.
- The award recognized Buterin’s work in blockchain technology and his interest in new forms of digital governance.
- Liberland, which was founded in 2015 on disputed territory between Croatia and Serbia, remains unrecognized by any sovereign state.
Liberland, the self-proclaimed microstate elected Justin Sun, founder of Tron, will be appointed Prime Minister in 2024 Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin received the country’s highest honor this week during ETHPrague 2026 in Prague.
Liberland President Veit Jedlicka presented Buterin with the “Order of Merit, 1st Class of the Star of Liberland” during a side event in Ethereum– Center conference.
“Liberland celebrates a shared vision by honoring Vitalik Buterin – using technology to expand human freedom and experiment with new and more responsive forms of governance for the digital age,” Liberland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In the video to publish On YouTube, Buterin thanked the Liberland community and congratulated the project on its progress.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what types of synergies we can create between our communities, and whether or not any of the things that are built can be beneficial to the people there, or if there are any other things that could happen at some point in the future,” he said. “I just wish you guys good luck.”
A microstate refers to a self-declared entity that claims to be an independent state, but lacks formal recognition from existing governments or international organizations. Similar projects include Emirate Sealand And a republic Molossia.
Founded in 2015, Liberland is a small libertarian state on land disputed between Croatia and Serbia along the Danube River, although neither country officially recognizes it as a sovereign state. In the same year, the Croatian police fired detained Jedlička when he tried to enter the area. However, the project has continued to attract libertarian activists, cryptocurrency founders, and blockchain developers interested in alternative governance systems.
Since its inception, Liberland has also marketed itself as a cryptocurrency haven, proposing to run government systems on-chain through blockchain technology’s voting mechanisms. Sun has described Liberland as “a blueprint for the future of freedom in the digital age.”
“Liberland is not just a nation; it is a blueprint for the future of freedom in the digital age,” Sun said in a statement. statement Last October. “With our blockchain technology at its core, we are building a meritocracy where innovation flourishes without limits.”
Daily debriefing Newsletter
Start each day with the latest news, plus original features, podcasts, videos and more.
