Network State Conference 2025

On October 3, come in person or watch online at ns.com/conference.

Network State Conference 2025 will be in Singapore on October 3. We already have 3000+ registrations, but by the time you read this there may still be a few spots left. You can attend in person for $99 or watch remotely by signing up here.

This year’s speakers include Vitalik Buterin, Bryan Johnson, Ben Horowitz, Brian Armstrong, Amjad Masad, Ranveer Allahbadia, Arthur Hayes, Nas Daily, Noah Smith, Andrew Huberman, and the governments of Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and El Salvador.

Our event is right after Token2049 and Solana APEX, where I’ll also be making guest appearances. So, if you’re in Singapore for this week’s cryptocurrency gatherings you should certainly come to the Network State Conference.¹

Because the next step after cryptocurrencies is cryptocommunities.

From Cryptocurrencies to Cryptocommunities

Network states are becoming real.

We wrote our book in 2022, held our first conference in 2023, and opened our school in 2024. Now, we have a movement. From tiny startups to global organizations, many different actors are now opening up physical popups, starting startup societies, materializing internet communities, and negotiating special economic zones.

This year’s conference documents that movement. We have Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum network-state inspired popups like Zuzalu and Etherlaken. We have Brian Armstrong and Xen Baynham-Herd of Coinbase on Basecamp and the Base Network State. We have Akshay BD and Farhaj Mahan from Solana on Forma and the new Solana Economic Zones. We have Veronika Kapustina, CEO of Telegram’s new TON Strategy Co, on the path to the Telegram Network State. And we have Bryan Johnson speaking about longevity and the Don’t Die Network State.

So: Ethereum, Coinbase, Solana, Telegram, and Don’t Die — all important online movements with billions of dollars and millions of followers — are materializing their cloud communities into the physical world. And they’ll be speaking about it at the Network State Conference.

Nation States + Network States

But wait, there’s more. Because the concept of the network state is also about win/win cooperation between nation states and digital networks. After all, many countries (particularly small states, and those from the ascending world) want global technologists to bring capital, talent, and economic development to their jurisdictions.

Towards that end, we have talks by representatives of the governments of El Salvador, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. Stacy Herbert will speak about El Salvador’s Bitcoin office, its AI law, and its digital nomad programs. Rashid Mohammed will talk about Expo City, a startup city built in Dubai, while Wai-Lum Kwok will discuss Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM)’s pro-crypto regulation. And Jacqueline Poh, chief of Singapore’s $40B JTC development arm, will speak about building the physical infrastructure and innovation parks that enable Singapore’s rapid economic growth.

The Network State Ecosystem

And there’s still more.

• Billion dollar funds. We have heads of billion dollar funds, including Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain, Avlok Kohli of AngelList, and Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly.

• Billion dollar companies. We have fireside chats with founders of multi-billion dollar companies, including Amjad Masad of Replit, Arthur Hayes of Bitmex, and Yat Siu of Animoca.

• Billion dollar coins. We have major crypto projects like Dan Romero of Farcaster, Sreeram Kannan of Eigenlayer, Circle cofounder Sean Neville, and Zcash cofounder Zooko Wilcox.

• Million follower creators. We have creators with millions of followers, including Ranveer Allahbadia of Beer Biceps, Nuseir Yasin of Nas Daily, and Andrew Huberman.

• Public intellectuals. We have talks from Noah Smith of Noahpinion, Thiel Fellowship and 1517 Fund cofounders Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman, seasteading inventor and Pronomos founder Patri Friedman, Pascal Emmanuel-Gobry of PolicySphere, Murtaza Hussein of Drop Site, Parag Khanna of AlphaGeo, Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, and Kathleen Tyson of Multicurrency Mercantilism.

• And startup societies. And, of course, we have founders of startup societies² like Farhaj Mayan of Forma, Niklas Anzinger of Infinita, Timour Kosters of Edge City, Aaron Renn of American Reformer, Alexander Grinspan of Fractal Boston, Maya Parbhoe of Bitcoin Sranan, Paul McNiel of Wagon Box, Adam Miller of MIDAO, Bradford Cross of Alpha City, Olly Kovalieva of Oz City, Vit Jedlicka of Liberland, Lonis Hamaili of Prospera, Jean Hansen of Ipe City, and James of Arc’s ârc.com.

I could say more…but need I say more?³

The point is that many of the most successful founders, creators, and investors in the world are now interested in the idea of bringing online communities into the physical world. Moreover, writers, policymakers, and intellectuals from around the world (and across the ideological spectrum!) are aligning around the concept of fusing networks with states, with ideas ranging from pro-tech regulations to special innovation zones. And all this capital and talent going towards the area means that you too⁴ can join a startup society that suits you — or found one yourself.

Because that’s the next step. We’ve started internet companies, we’ve started internet currencies, and now we’re starting internet communities.⁵ Come to the Network State Conference to be there at the start.

1. See also this X thread on the Network State Conference, which makes

2. These startup societies are global. They’re both inside America (Indiana, Boston, Wyoming, NYC, etc) and outside it (in Brazil, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Suriname, the Marshall Islands, and more).

3. To fit in all our distinguished speakers, our event runs all day from 9am to 8pm in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands on October 3. We have just one stage, with minimal logos, and brief talks. It’s more like an academic conference than a traditional tech conference, as the focus is very much on ideas.

4. I do want to stress that network states are for everyone. The involvement of large funds and global platforms means that capital for startup societies is becoming available, but most of the founders of successful companies weren’t wealthy when they started out, and you need not be either.

5. As we’ve discussed at our previous conferences, and in our book, and also at our school, the point of starting new societies is moral innovation rather than technology or finance per se. By building new societies with defined social smart contracts where everyone has explicitly consented to governance — and anyone can opt out — we can defend capitalism, democracy, internationalism, self-determination, and liberal values in an increasingly illiberal world. We can’t fit all that into one post, however, so come to the conference to learn more!