Justin Sun-Led Liberland Micronation Awards Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Its Top Honor &#8211; Decrypt

In brief

Liberland gave 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, founded in 2015 on disputed land between Croatia and Serbia, remains unrecognized by any sovereign nation.

Liberland, the self-declared micronation that elected Tron founder Justin Sun as prime minister in 2024, awarded Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin its highest state honor this week during ETHPrague 2026 in Prague.

Liberland President Vít Jedlička presented Buterin with the “First Class Order of Merit of the Star of Liberland” during a side event at the Ethereum-focused conference.

“Liberland celebrates a shared vision by honoring Vitalik Buterin—using technology to expand human freedom and to experiment with new, more responsive forms of governance for the digital age,” the Liberland Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

In a video posted on YouTube, Buterin thanked the Liberland community and congratulated the project on its progress.

“I look forward to seeing what kinds of synergies we can have between our communities, and whether or not any of the things that have been built can be useful for people there, or if there are any other things that can happen at some point in the future,” he said. “I just wish you guys the best of luck.”

A micronation refers to a self-declared entity that claims to be an independent nation, but lacks official recognition from established governments or international organizations. Similar projects include the Principality of Sealand and the Republic of Molossia.

Founded in 2015, Liberland is a libertarian micronation on disputed land between Croatia and Serbia along the Danube River, though no country officially recognizes it as a sovereign state. The same year it launched, Croatian police detained Jedlička when he attempted to enter the territory. Even so, the project has continued attracting libertarian activists, crypto founders, and blockchain developers interested in alternative governance systems.

Since its inception, Liberland has also marketed itself as a crypto haven, and has proposed running government systems on-chain through blockchain voting mechanisms. Sun has called Liberland “a blueprint for the future of freedom in the digital age.”

“Liberland isn’t just a nation; it’s a blueprint for the future of freedom in the digital age,” Sun said in a statement last October. “With our blockchain at the core, we’re building a meritocracy where innovation thrives without borders.”