I don't particularly want to move to Antarctica. I'm a French-US national, a dual citizen to two of the world's most powerful countries. I live and work between Tunisia and Germany—my taxes, my insurance, my life is scattered across three continents. I enjoy a greater degree of freedom of movement, speech, education, and employment than most. My fundamental rights are protected. My interactions with state bureaucracy have been mostly painless. I have near-constant access to WiFi.

"That's currently the only place in the world not covered by nation-state jurisdiction," Susanne Tarkowski Tempelhof, the platform's founder told me matter-of-factly, lighting up a cigarette.

A few hours outside of Berlin, I visited Dirk von Heinrichshorst. Four years ago, von Heinrichshorst moved his small family to a secluded castle in the German countryside, which he runs as a bed and breakfast. Motivated by altruism and an affinity to the ideals of Bitnation, he became an ambassador and registered Schloss Heinrichshorst as an embassy last year.

I was hungry for some tangible proof of my citizenship. Part of Bitnation's appeal is that it does partially operate in physical space, with 25 embassies and consulates around the world. Anyone can sign up online to become an ambassador and open an embassy.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I applied for Bitnation citizenship. When my father became a US citizen, he memorized parts of the Constitution and wore a suit to his naturalization ceremony. For my part, I lazily clicked through Bitnation's website while in pajamas, pausing only to think up an alias other than my first name. I received a congratulatory e-mail: Welcome to BITNATION!

"I am against borders," he told me. "Those borders are the result of centuries of war, of pain and suffering."

Dressed in a purple shirt and vest, with a well-waxed handlebar moustache curving up to the corners of his eyes, von Heinrichshorst ushered me into a large room decorated like a steampunk reception hall. Ambient Swedish music pours over the loudspeakers and he offered me a glass of sparkling water. A former IT engineer originally from Belgium, von Heinrichshorst speaks softly, measuring each word carefully.

I came away from Schloss Heinrichshorst more confused about Bitnation. What is the point, exactly? Who is it catering to? Is it a viable solution to inequality, or just some fleeting, newfangled idea meant to stir up debate?

While von Heinrichshorst said he would support the limitless growth of opt-in virtual nation (VN) states, which corresponds to his own world view, he is cautiously optimistic about the feasible, full-scale implementation of Bitnation.

So far, the platform's services are limited and interest is negligible. Though Bitnation's philosophy is to be a "de-facto service provider," because it is not recognized by other nation-states, it has no legal jurisdiction. Bitnation embassies are thus limited in the services they can provide. An asylum seeker could ostensibly come and stay at Schloss Heinrichshorst, but international protection couldn't be guaranteed. Still in a largely experimental phase, only one couple has signed up to be married through their online platform.

Schloss Heinrichshorst has adopted several borderless, Bitnation practices—visitors can pay for their stay in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin weddings are available via their website , and the embassy has welcomed a dozen "digital nomads" in the past year. Von Heinrichshorst became an ambassador to be able to "help people in some small way."

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Bitnation has nearly 4,000 citizens flung across the globe, though the majority—and its spokesperson—are based in Europe. The platform is gaining momentum at a time when the strains of the nation-state model are increasingly evident. Europe, the birthplace of the Peace of Westphalia and the emergence of sovereign jurisdiction as we know it, is seemingly plagued by a rise in right-wing nationalism, an uneven debt crisis, an influx of refugees, and a Brexit.

Is Bitnation the modern solution?

"In the wake of #Brexit I have become a citizen of @MyBitNation. It has huge potential and is gaining momentum. #BlockchainsnotBorders," @Memset_Kate tweeted a day after the referendum passed.

In the wake of #Brexit I have become a citizen of @MyBitNation. It has huge potential and is gaining momentum. #BlockchainsNotBorders

— Kate Craig-Wood (@Memset_Kate) June 24, 2016

Through some targeted programs, Bitnation has been able to address specific inadequacies of the European nation-state model. The platform's Refugee Emergency Response project, for example, provides emergency digital ID cards and Bitcoin Visa cards to people escaping war-torn countries and arriving on the shores of Europe.

"We don't need to improve existing nation-states, we need to make them redundant"

As many refugees have their identification confiscated when fleeing, blockchain technology could help to verify individuals who can't physically prove their legal status; debit cards can provide much needed funds to families. While the EU Parliament voted for a hands-off approach to blockchain regulation, the technology's usage varies across the continent, and Greece, which is the landing point for most Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghani refugees arriving by boat, has no specific legislation on Bitcoin.