Received donations from V God, a brief understanding of the network state sandbox Zuitzerland

Zuitzerland is a network country sandbox project based in Switzerland, dedicated to exploring technology-driven future social models.

Written by: Scof, ChainCatcher

Compiled by: TB, ChainCatcher

On April 3rd, Vitalik Buterin once again took action to support the future he believes in. 274 ETH, approximately $500,000, was directly transferred by him to the developers of an experimental project in Switzerland. There was no overwhelming publicity, nor was it a grand fundraising event—just his usual style: when he sees something worth supporting, he takes action.

What is Zuitzerland? What is its relationship with Zuzalu and Edge City, which were previously supported by V God? Why are so many builders, researchers, and creators paying attention to it?

What is Zuitzerland?

Zuitzerland is an experimental project dedicated to exploring possible paths for future societies. It combines cutting-edge technology, decentralized governance, and the advantages of real-world systems to build a “network state sandbox,” providing a real social experimentation space for builders, researchers, and creators worldwide.

The project originates from Switzerland, which is known for its over 700 years of local autonomy and direct democracy traditions. It has a robust system and high social trust, making it a rare real-world example of “sustainable governance.” Switzerland hopes to leverage this institutional soil, combined with Web3 technology, to practice a replicable and verifiable new social structure.

It can be said that Zuitzerland is a continuation and evolution of the Zuzalu concept. Zuzalu is a pop-up city experiment initiated by Vitalik in 2023, attracting pioneers from the global Web3, AI, biotechnology, and other fields within two months. Its impact far exceeded expectations, giving rise to extended projects such as Edge City, while Zuitzerland takes a further step — establishing a long-term resident node to bring the spirit of Zuzalu into the real governance system.

The project provides participants with a co-creation and testing platform through residency programs, city pop-up events, hackathons, and other formats, focusing on cutting-edge areas such as Web3, AI, biotechnology, privacy computing, and brain-computer interfaces. It attempts to answer a key question: can a technology-driven, distributed yet resilient society truly operate in the real world?

The Practical Path of Zuitzerland

1. Turn “governance” from a concept into reality

Currently, many decentralized projects and organizations face governance challenges: the concepts are advanced, but there is a lack of practical application scenarios and effective testing platforms. Zuitzerland provides a small-scale, controllable real environment where new social structures and governance mechanisms can be genuinely tested. This is not only about discussing how “DAO” operates but allowing people to live, collaborate, and self-govern in a real space while continuously optimizing the system.

The institutional foundation of Switzerland provides a solid reference here. Zuitzerland draws on the experience of Swiss democracy, such as referendums, local autonomy, and small-scale trust networks, to offer a practical template for decentralized governance.

2. Provide a landing platform for innovators from different backgrounds

Zuitzerland targets three core groups:

• Builders and doers: such as Web3 developers and DAO participants, who can test new tools and build communities here.
• Experts and researchers: Policymakers, economists, and sociologists can observe or participate in real-world prototype experiments.
• Creators: Artists, philosophers, and cultural narrators inject humanistic depth into technological construction.

Switzerland does not pursue “popularization” but provides a space for “deep interest participants” who are willing to personally engage in future experiments.

3. Promote “Safe Technology Acceleration”

Switzerland advocates the concept of “Defensive Accelerationism (d/acc)” which emphasizes that technological acceleration must simultaneously focus on safety, boundaries, and long-term resilience. In the current rapidly changing technological environment, how to maintain basic order and avoid systemic risks while innovating is a core issue. The stability of Switzerland makes it an ideal testing ground for d/acc experiments.

4. Provide limited but genuine support and opportunities

The project will open applications, giving priority to applicants who have a genuine willingness to participate but have limited financial means. Some scholarships cover costs such as accommodation (excluding transportation), and applicants need to demonstrate a willingness and ability to participate long-term.

Additionally, Zuitzerland uses NFT holders as part of the support screening, where participants can support projects through Juicebox and gain priority, which also aligns with the community-driven logic advocated by the project.

Project Follow-up Plan

The activities in Switzerland will begin on May 1st and last throughout May, featuring a series of thematic weeks, workshops, summits, and hackathons, focusing on core themes such as community co-construction, Swiss governance, network states, cutting-edge technology, and future lifestyles. The participation fee for the project is approximately 650-2500 Swiss francs per week.

Participants will jointly explore social prototypes, technological applications, and institutional innovations, and will carry out project development and result presentations in the final week. The entire process progresses from concept exploration to practical prototyping, forming a complete experimental closed loop.

( This article only introduces early projects and does not constitute investment advice. )