Author: Scof, ChainCatcher

Compiled by: TB, ChainCatcher

On April 3, Vitalik Buterin once again took action to support the future he believed in. He transferred 274 ETH, about $500,000, directly to the developers of Zuitzerland's experimental project. There was no overwhelming publicity, nor was it a high-profile financing - it was just his usual style: when he sees something worth supporting, he takes action.

What is Zuitzerland? How does it relate to Zuzalu and Edge City, which Vitalik supported before? 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 society. It combines cutting-edge technology, decentralized governance and the advantages of real systems to build a "network state sandbox" to provide a real social experiment field for builders, researchers and creators around the world.

Switzerland, where the project was initiated, is known for its 700-year tradition of local autonomy and direct democracy, with a stable system and high social trust. It is a rare example of "sustainable governance" in reality. Zuitzerland hopes to use this institutional soil and combine it with Web3 technology to practice a new social structure that is replicable and verifiable.

It can be said that Zuitzerland is the continuation and evolution of Zuzalu's concept. Zuzalu is a pop-up city experiment initiated by Vitalik in 2023. Within two months, it attracted pioneers in the fields of Web3, AI, and biotechnology from around the world to participate. Its impact far exceeded expectations, giving rise to extension projects such as Edge City, while Zuitzerland has taken a further step - establishing a long-term resident node to implement the spirit of Zuzalu into the real governance system.

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

Zuitzerland’s practical path

1. Turning “governance” from concept to reality

Currently, many decentralized projects and organizations face governance challenges: the concepts are advanced, but there is a lack of real-world application scenarios and effective test platforms. Zuitzerland provides a small-scale, controllable real environment where new social structures and governance mechanisms can be tested in real life. This is not just about discussing how "DAO" works, but about allowing people to live, collaborate, and govern themselves in a real space, and constantly optimize the system.

Switzerland’s institutional foundation provides a solid reference here. Zuitzerland draws on the experience of Swiss democracy, such as referendum, local autonomy, and small-scale trust networks, to provide a realistic 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 form communities here.
  • Experts and researchers: Policy makers, economists, and sociologists can observe or participate in real-world social prototype experiments.
  • Creators: Artists, philosophers, and cultural storytellers inject humanistic depth into technological construction.

Zuitzerland does not pursue "popularization", but provides a space for "deeply interested people" who are willing to personally participate in future experiments.

3. Promote "safe technology acceleration"

Zuitzerland advocates the concept of "Defensive Accelerationism (d/acc)". Technology acceleration must pay attention to security, 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. Switzerland's stability makes it an ideal testing ground for d/acc experiments.

4. Provide limited but real support and opportunities

The project will be open for application, and priority will be given to applicants who have a real willingness to participate but have limited financial conditions. Some scholarships support accommodation and other expenses (excluding transportation), and applicants need to have the willingness and ability to participate in the long term.

In addition, Zuitzerland uses NFT holders as part of the support screening. Participants can support the project through Juicebox and obtain priority. This approach is also in line with the community-driven logic advocated by the project.

Project follow-up plan

Zuitzerland's activities will start on May 1 and last throughout May, through a series of theme weeks, workshops, summits and hackathons, focusing on core themes such as community co-building, Swiss governance, networked countries, cutting-edge technology and future lifestyles. The cost of participating in the project is roughly 650-2500 Swiss francs per week.

Participants will jointly explore social prototypes, technological applications and institutional innovations, and develop projects and present results in the last week. The entire process progresses from concept exploration to actual prototypes, forming a complete experimental closed loop.

(This article only introduces early-stage projects and is not intended as investment advice.)