President of Liberland Vit Jedlička shared with Bitnovosti the news about the current and prospective development of the self-proclaimed decentralized crypto-anarchist state in an exclusive interview, after the Blockshow event in Berlin.
Bitnovosti: We recorded a Skype interview with you a few years ago and our readers want to follow your story. Could you please share the news about the latest milestones of your project’s development?
Vit Jedlička: Yes, sure, I think, we have grown from 200 000 to 550 000 citizens – quite a considerable nation already. We have our offices in a hundred countries around the world. For example in Germany we have 3 representative offices. They are growing as well, developing the whole ecosystem and negotiating with local chambers of commerce.
We’ve got recognized by Somaliland, which was a nice event too.
In Liberland itself we are building infrastructure and co-working spaces, so we are now open to visitors. We have to base everything on water in Liberland, but things are moving forward, and I’m quite happy with some recent supporters of Liberland, Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the Five Star Movement in Italy supported us. And we’ve got support from Ivan Bernar, the third most popular Croatian politician. Things are moving forward in many aspects, and I’m quite happy about that.
Bitnovosti: What about your community in Russia? How many supporters do you have there?
Vit Jedlička: I’m quite excited about that actually. I’ve recently been on call with some people who are determined to build a small Liberland village at Baikal, which will incorporate some mining facilities. We have been purchasing a lot of land for symbolic prices from our supporters there, and soon we are going to have a small Liberland village near Baikal. We also see our diasporas growing in Somaliland, Panama, Mexico, Philippines and elsewhere. Thus, the idea of Liberland is indeed materializing in different shapes and forms all around the world.
Bitnovosti: And what exactly is going on with the original piece of land between Croatia and Serbia?
Vit Jedlička: We are building more and more ships. We have a nice fleet there by now, we can host up to 250 people there by now. Some of the visitors may stay fulltime, especially sailors, as we need more skilled sailors. It is also nice that we can do weddings there.
Bitnovosti: How many people live there on permanent basis?
Vit Jedlička: We have few people who moved in for permanent stay, but everything is happening on water on the river next to Liberland, as our relations with Croatians are still quite problematic. We will get over it eventually. It is not bad at all as it gives us a room to maneuver. It keeps us afloat in a way, as all the structures we have in Liberland are floating ones.
Bitnovosti: Do you foresee any hypothetical ways of resolving this conflict with Croatian government someday?
Vit Jedlička: We have some open supporters in Croatia now, and this is a completely new thing. So, I think, solving this problem is just a matter of time. They will eventually realize how much benefit we can bring to the whole region.
Bitnovosti: So, if not a Liberland citizen, what is one to do in order to visit it?
Vit Jedlička: It’s easy. You just have to take a flight to Prague or Belgrade, and from there you can use our air services or take a short drive and you are there.
Bitnovosti: So, no borders, no stamps, no checks?
Vit Jedlička: You can get a stamp in your passport in Liberland, why not? But it is more like a souvenir.
Bitnovosti: And besides Germany and Somali where exactly do you have your offices?
Vit Jedlička: We have 105 offices now globally, I’m happy about our representatives in Russia as well, I have been there about a week ago. We have a very vibrant community made up of lawyers, architects, musicians…
Bitnovosti: You have recently partnered with Bitnation. How is it going to work? What is the essence of this partnership?
Vit Jedlička: We will be using their smart contracts, they are developing very useful smart-contracts which will be connected to our Constitution, and Bitnation could also be a platform where our smart-contracts will be deployed.
Bitnovosti: Are you going to use Pangea platform as a basis for a new jurisdiction?
Vit Jedlička: I wouldn’t say “as a basis” is the right way to put it. These contracts will be used as additional options for LIberland citizens, but we are still different nations and entities.
Bitnovosti: So what will be your next step and Liberland’s soonest improvement?
Vit Jedlička: Lots of things are happening. I’d like to build a small hotel or restaurant there. We would also like more private entrepreneurs to join us. One of the most important things to be mentioned is that we would like to see more and more cryptobusinesses moving to Liberland. We have some promising ICOs who want to join us…Big Chinese exchangehas chosen our jurisdiction, and a Czech bank want to open a subsidiary with us. I’m happy that the whole ecosystem is flourishing.
Bitnovosti: Do you have any mining facilities at place?
Vit Jedlička: I’m actually in the process of negotiation with some miners. Croatian gas is the cheapest source of energy in Europe. There are few mining farms around Liberland. But we are actually accumulating some bigger facilities in one of the zones in Serbia. It’s separate from the state but we are already negotiating.
Bitnovosti: How do you feel about the event? (#BlockShow Europe in Berlin)
Vit Jedlička: It was great and busy. I’m most excited about the wallet which we managed to negotiate for Liberland. It will be like a state-of-art wallet connected to all decentralized exchanges. And it’ s already working so the only thing that we have to do is to brand it. That’s the biggest outcome of this conference.
Bitnovosti: Are you planning to visit Moscow anytime soon?
Vit Jedlička: Right now my passport is full and I’ll have to make a new Russian visa which is quite expensive by the way. So I hope Russia will recognize Liberland passport soon and we’ll have a visa free access.
Bitnovosti: Do you have a message which you want to deliver to your followers?
Vit Jedlička: While developing businesses and making ecosystem viable, we have to remember that the main idea is to establish Liberty, and not to built a police state with the help of the innovations, many people are forgetting it now.
Bitnovosti: What do you think about the general state of bitcoin market?
Vit Jedlička: Liberland state has a quite diverse potfolio of cryptocurrencies. These are not only bitcoins that we are relying on. This diversification balances our budget despite all ups and downs. We are also preparing to issue our own token and six exchanges have already demonstrated their commitment to trading it so it’s going to be nice.
Bitnovosti: Are you going to launch an ICO?
Vit Jedlička: Not exactly an ICO, but rather some lasting sources of funding for our decentralized autonomous state. So it is like a continuous public offering. You have to buy 5 000 of these tokens to become a citizen, plus it’ll have some anonymizing features.
Bitnovosti: Are you building your own blockchain?
Vit Jedlička: Yes we do, we have some experts from Cambridge University helping us to do something unique, to make our tokens a part of the whole ecosystem.
Bitnovosti: Is the privacy your only focus?
Vit Jedlička: Privacy is one of the focuses, as well as quantum resistance, and resistanse to 51% attacks. It will be a new generation of proof-of-stake algorithm.
Bitnovosti: Thanks a lot for sharing your vision and news.
Vit Jedlička: Welcome and see you in Liberland.
https://en.bitnovosti.com/2018/07/03/vit-jedlicka-the-idea-of-liberland-is-materializing-in-different-shapes-all-around-the-world/