Nation3 DAO launches the "Cloud Nation" experiment

Author: Kyle, Hive Tech

After the emergence of various DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), bolder ideas have surfaced. A project named Nation3 DAO is attempting to build a "cloud nation."

Luis Cuende, the founder of Nation3, hopes to create a nation-like functionality based on Web3. It does not need to have real territory or sovereign recognition, but it requires citizens to reach a consensus on building a new community together, and then work towards common goals in education, healthcare, and even economic systems.

This utopian experiment is in full swing. On May 30, Nation3 officially announced the issuance of 420 "passport" NFTs, marking the launch of this "cloud nation."

Currently, Nation3's "cloud nation ecosystem" includes sectors such as cloud nations, special economic zones, internet communities, physical communities, healthcare, and community tools, each with some project partners that form part of this "cloud nation." Compared to the real nations people are familiar with, it resembles an experiment in decentralized ideology, but given the current lack of Web3 infrastructure, this experiment is still just a castle in the air.

Nation3 Issues "Passport" NFTs

In recent times, we have witnessed various DAOs, such as ConstitutionDAO, which attempted to auction a copy of the U.S. Constitution, Juicebox DAO, which is dedicated to crowdfunding for communities, and ENS DAO, which focuses on the Ethereum Name Service. They leverage blockchain and the digital economy to rally like-minded individuals to accomplish common missions through remote collaboration. The successes and failures of these experiences have ultimately led to bolder ideas, with a project named Nation3 DAO attempting to build a "cloud nation."

On May 30, Nation3 announced on its official Twitter that it would open the application for its genesis passport NFTs at 00:20 Beijing time on May 31. Users holding more than 2 VeNation tokens can claim the total of 420 "passports" on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to reports, users holding "passport" NFTs will have rights to governance, participate in the construction of the internal economic system, benefit from Nation3's future potential income, and receive genesis NFTs. These rights seem similar to those of other DAOs, but Nation3 may be the most audacious on-chain experiment to date.

Nation3 was established on April 10 of this year, and its founder, Luis Cuende, is quite well-known in the blockchain industry. Luis Cuende is a co-founder of the decentralized governance and DAO tool platform Aragon, was recognized as the best programmer in Europe under 18, and is also a co-founder of Stampery, a company that has invested in well-known enterprises such as Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, and Baidu.

Luis Cuende regards himself as a freedom fighter, and he created Nation3 because he believes that current democratic nations are "broken," filled with militarized rule and climate crises. "We can do better."

Upon visiting Nation3's website, there is not much narrative about roadmaps or project features; instead, there is a long declaration. "With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, technology and mass production brought violence to a new level; our technological progress has been significant, but the overall structure of nation-states has remained unchanged for nearly a thousand years." The project believes that there are many drawbacks to current nation-states that need to be rebuilt, including the construction of new communities, new education, new forms of governance, etc. In this process, global cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum can play an important role.

Luis Cuende believes that Web3 offers people the opportunity to break free from real nations for the first time and create a new way to increase service efficiency by 100 times, ensuring that they are community-owned.

At the beginning of building the "cloud nation," Nation3 had previously issued the NATION community token based on Ethereum, with a total supply of 42,069 tokens. Of this, 80% will be used for the treasury and Twitter activity airdrops, while 20% will go to founding team members and contributors. Users can stake NATION to obtain VeNation credentials, thereby gaining rights to govern Nation3 DAO, qualify for minting NFT "passports," and increase liquidity rewards.

However, the governance system of Nation3 DAO still has not escaped the form of state systems; it adopts a "bicameral system," where founding citizens will bear most of the governance responsibilities but require approval from VeNation holders to achieve a balance of power.

With Nation3 officially issuing "passport" NFTs, this Web3 version of the "cloud nation" has begun its construction. However, many unknown challenges lie ahead regarding how to continue this bold experiment.

Lack of Web3 Infrastructure Makes "Nation Building" a Heavy Burden

Due to founder Luis Cuende's prominence in the crypto community, Nation3's attention has been steadily increasing, initially reflected in the price of NATION. CoinGecko shows that NATION once soared from $510 to $12,749, with a maximum increase of 2399%.

From feedback in overseas markets, people have a relatively tolerant attitude towards Nation3, viewing it as an interesting and bold idea, with few accusations of "scams." However, more people hope that the project can provide more concrete and effective plans.

According to the Wiki page provided on the official website, Nation3 has developed a preliminary "cloud nation ecosystem," which includes cloud nations, special economic zones, internet communities, physical communities, healthcare, and community tools, with project partners in each sector forming part of this "cloud nation."

For example, in the physical community sector, Nation3 has included Culdesac, the first car-free community built from scratch in the U.S., aiming to create a higher quality of life and larger neighborhoods. At the same time, Nation3 has also included CityDAO, which aims to create a city supporting crypto assets in Wyoming, a blockchain-friendly state in the U.S.

In the healthcare sector, Nation3 has included SafetyWing—a "digital nomad travel insurance" that allows users worldwide to flexibly purchase insurance at any time and make online changes, updates, or renewals to their policies.

Overall, Nation3's current "cloud nation ecosystem" is still just a prototype.

According to the plan, after the NFT "passports" are released, Nation3 will begin its development. As core users of Nation3 services, Nation3 "citizens" will have tasks such as proposing proposals, conducting research, implementing bills, and participating in working groups, as well as completing other necessary work to successfully launch the "cloud nation." Once time and expertise are invested in the project, funding for Nation3 DAO will also begin to flow.

However, problems arise as the "passports" are mainly issued to VeNation credential holders, and VeNation credentials are derived from staking NATION. Additionally, NATION can be freely purchased in the market, leading to a situation where most of Nation3's early citizens are crypto asset investors who prioritize return on investment and may lack the professional experience, skills, and interest in "nation building." Thus, the grassroots foundation of Nation3 seems less solid.

At the same time, according to Nation3's ideal of a "service-oriented nation," how to make on-chain applications serve the "citizens" is the biggest challenge. Current Web3.0 applications are more about transforming Web2.0 using blockchain, but people do not even have a commonly used Web3 social media or shopping site. In the absence of a solid foundation, building a "nation" sounds more like an online game.

Nation3's slogan is very appealing, but its goals are unrealistic. This bold experiment requires more catalysts to continue, and at least Web3.0 needs to move beyond the conceptual stage and await the emergence of more widely accepted infrastructure.