Republic Of Bitcoin

[BTCrow]

Screw a third world country... We should buy a cheap offshore lighthouse or small island from the government and start our own Republic Of Bitcoin.

Without a kinda police force or authority enough powerful expect to have big drug / weapons lord kill everyone to steal your island and establish their commerce there. And this is only one reason of not doing it. Very nice idea but non viable for real.

Those guys won't be a problem if this country willingly trades with them or runs their finances. Though the bigger problem (especially should that happen) will be nearby governments objecting. Check out the Republic of Rose Nation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Rose_Island

Thanks for that info, but wow that's horrible... So ok near government could be another point for not buying an island.

[OgNasty]

Screw a third world country... We should buy a cheap offshore lighthouse or small island from the government and start our own Republic Of Bitcoin.

Without a kinda police force or authority enough powerful expect to have big drug / weapons lord kill everyone to steal your island and establish their commerce there. And this is only one reason of not doing it. Very nice idea but non viable for real.

I really don't think you have to worry about drug lords killing everyone in a lighthouse.  These are located close to US shores and most likely it would be just for show...  Maybe a small solar/wind powered bitcoin mining operation, but definitely nothing worth attacking US Citizens on a former US lighthouse a few miles from a US shore over.  The US Navy would most likely respond to any distress calls...

I would be willing to make this happen.  I just don't know what it would accomplish or what benefits it would have (please fill in the blanks if you know of any benefits this would have)... If anyone is interested in making this happen, I'd be willing to do all the legwork with the proper funding (donations).

Hell, if this idea got popular, I'd be willing to take the highest donating members out to the lighthouse on my 80' yacht for a week long party to celebrate our independence...

[TheBitMan]

On kickstarter.com they were going to start a new island...hummm

[Rassah]

Hell, if this idea got popular, I'd be willing to take the highest donating members out to the lighthouse on my 80' yacht for a week long party to celebrate our independence...

Why not just join up with seasteading.org then?

[kgo]

What would happen if one of those Third world countries based their currency on bitcoin?

Or how about a Virtual On-line Republic with Bitcoin as their Currency?

Just a though

I like the idea, but bitcoin would have to become physical first.

Yeah, more likely, but still highly unlikely, would be some country backing their existing currency with bitcoins.

[OgNasty]

Hell, if this idea got popular, I'd be willing to take the highest donating members out to the lighthouse on my 80' yacht for a week long party to celebrate our independence...

Why not just join up with seasteading.org then?

I have no intention of living at sea.  Sounds like a great project though.  Perhaps they'd be better suited to spearhead this operation.  The way I'd do it would be as cheap as possible and probably a little ghetto.  Mostly just for show.  I think it could be accomplished with a few thousand BTC though.

[conspirosphere.tk]

I think that territory is no more a requisite of sovereignty, like precious metals are no more a requisite of money.
If you have to set up a known permanent base in any physical place, you are an easy target.

We have to be sovereign individuals with sovereign money from the cyberspace.

[error]

I think that territory is no more a requisite of sovereignty, like precious metals are no more a requisite of money.
If you have to set up a known permanent base in any physical place, you are an easy target.

We have to be sovereign individuals with sovereign money from the cyberspace.

Hm, that has some serious problems, the first of which is your physical body exists in physical space. Get rid of the physical body and it's no longer a problem.

[conspirosphere.tk]

I think that territory is no more a requisite of sovereignty, like precious metals are no more a requisite of money.
If you have to set up a known permanent base in any physical place, you are an easy target.

We have to be sovereign individuals with sovereign money from the cyberspace.

Hm, that has some serious problems, the first of which is your physical body exists in physical space. Get rid of the physical body and it's no longer a problem.

They can hit your physical body only if they know your name (that is why we are assigned names). But sometimes, especially in the cyberspace we can be anonymous (which should be the basic of a new paranoid religion in my view).

[indicasteve]

Sealand is for sale...  only 650 million Euros...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

[conspirosphere.tk]

Sealand is for sale...  only 650 million Euros...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

To invade them and get their base would be infinitely cheaper -and none could object once they are defeated, unless they have some secret pact for mutual defense with some gov't (unlikely)-. It already happened at least once in their history.

Alternatively we could set up a "Government of the Bitcoin Republic in Exile in the Cyberspace"

[Jointops420]

You dont need your own country. From what I have read and I am not educated enough to be sure that a group of people form a society with its own rules and behavior standards etc that is agreed on much like we have with the Law Society by which we are duped with false sounding language and another the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

[GideonGono]

Sealand is for sale...  only 650 million Euros...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

To invade them and get their base would be infinitely cheaper -and none could object once they are defeated, unless they have some secret pact for mutual defense with some gov't (unlikely)-. It already happened at least once in their history.

Alternatively we could set up a "Government of the Bitcoin Republic in Exile in the Cyberspace"

That would not be the first time Sealand has been invaded

In August 1978, while Bates and his wife were in England, Alexander Achenbach, who describes himself as the Prime Minister of Sealand, hired several German and Dutch mercenaries to spearhead an attack of Roughs Tower.[12] They stormed the tower with speedboats and helicopters, and took Bates' son hostage. Bates was able to retake the tower and capture Achenbach and the mercenaries. Achenbach, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand[12] and was held unless he paid DM 75,000 (more than US$ 35,000 or £23,000).[13] The governments of the Netherlands, Austria and Germany petitioned the British government for his release, but the United Kingdom disavowed his imprisonment, citing the 1968 court decision.[11] Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Roughs Tower to negotiate for Achenbach's release. Roy Bates relented after several weeks of negotiations and subsequently claimed that the diplomat's visit constituted de facto recognition of Sealand by Germany.[12]

Following his repatriation, Achenbach and Gernot Pütz established a "government in exile", sometimes known as the Sealand Rebel Government, or Sealandic Rebel Government, in Germany,[12] Aschenbach's appointed successor, Johannes Seiger, continues to claim via his website that he is Sealand's legitimate ruling authority.[14]

[molecular]

What would happen if one of those Third world countries based their currency on bitcoin?

Or how about a Virtual On-line Republic with Bitcoin as their Currency?

Just a though

I like the idea, but bitcoin would have to become physical first.

Why? Use of phones for payment is very popular in many african places, I hear.

[conspirosphere.tk]

Sealand is for sale...  only 650 million Euros...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

We could buy a whole Old West town in South Dakota for less

[Rassah]

Actually, the "society without a location" may turn out to be plausible. If enough businesses start selling goods in Bitcoin, and enough black-market establishments start renting rooms for bitcoin and paying for jobs in bitcoin, it may be possible to renounce your citizenship, and just live wherever you want, earning and paying with bitcoin while avoiding things like taxes. Though you would still have to follow the local laws of your residence, such as weapons possession, property ownership, and contract laws.

[Possum]

Why not just join up with seasteading.org then

Wow.. Somebody tell http://seasteading.org about Bitcoin Quick..

[netrin]

If enough businesses start selling goods in Bitcoin, and enough black-market establishments start renting rooms for bitcoin and paying for jobs in bitcoin, it may be possible to renounce your citizenship, and just live wherever you want, earning and paying with bitcoin while avoiding things like taxes.

Rassha, what does currency have to do with citizenship? I'm not a citizen where I work, but pay taxes where I live.

[kloinko1n]

What would happen if one of those Third world countries based their currency on bitcoin?

Or how about a Virtual On-line Republic with Bitcoin as their Currency?

Just a though

If it imports oil: it will go bancrupt.
If it sells oil: it will be invaded by the banksters USofA and bombed into submission to the dollar.
It's as simple as that.  

[RogerR]

Guys - we won't need a whole country. A type of special administrative/semi-autonomous region like Hong Kong, Jersey or even some Native American nations would do. After all, all you need is a legal, internationally accepted body for constant money exchange.

As far as physical money in circulation goes... their central bank (or any other trusted institution for that matter) issuing fiat money on the bitcoin standard should do the trick.