Vitalik Buterin Highlights Two Challenges for ‘Network States’

For the concept of ‘network states’ to become viable, two primary issues must be addressed: governance and membership. This was stated by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Speaking at the Network State Conference 2024 in Singapore, he noted that a ‘network state’ involves uniting an online community into a physical entity with the aim of achieving political autonomy. Such socio-political organizations are seen as potential successors to libertarianism, combining individualism with the values of their participants.

Buterin has frequently mentioned his ‘pop-up city’ project Zuzalu.

As part of the initiative, from March to May 2023, 200 people from the Ethereum community, leaders of crypto projects, biotech entrepreneurs, and scientific researchers gathered in Montenegro. Their goal was to address collective issues such as human longevity.

“Bring these people together for 60 days, try to become a city, and then see what happens,” Buterin commented.

According to him, participants enjoyed the experience, which included healthy eating, cold immersion, and yoga, as well as a focus on the human factor.

Buterin noted that questions of governance and the further development of Zuzalu remain unresolved.

The Ethereum co-founder explained that ‘network states’ can have their own rules that serve their citizens. They can avoid excessive regulation that stifles progress, yet the framework for their implementation remains undefined, he added.

According to Buterin, ‘pop-up cities’ are a new environment where one can “create fiction” and think ten steps ahead. However, there must be productive relationships between them, as the tribalism currently observed on social media is “zero-sum and unproductive,” he said.

The Ethereum co-founder concluded that ‘pop-up cities’ are “market-fit,” but “it is necessary to focus on resolving issues of governance and membership.”

“To move forward, the path depends on the goal. We all need to cooperate much more, even if we have different goals, and we must carefully consider how to do this,” he concluded.

In May, Buterin supported the idea of developer X Wang Haofei regarding confidential likes and suggested transferring the initiative to the Farcaster social network. He advised “borrowing” ZK technology from Zupoll, a tool for anonymous voting.