From Michigan to “Farewell to Westphalia”: Blockchain Is Reshaping Sovereignty
In the same week, two seemingly unrelated stories ran side by side: Michigan relaunched its cryptocurrency reserve bill after a seven-month hiatus, and Logos Press Engine published its book, Farewell to Westphalia: Cryptosovereignty and Post-Nation Governance. One story comes from practical politics, the other from the realm of theory and philosophy – but both ask the big question: how will blockchain change the nature of the state and sovereignty?
State Government Enters the “Bitcoin Era”
Michigan’s House Bill 4087 would allow up to 10% of its economic stabilization fund and countercyclical budget to be allocated to crypto assets. If passed, it would make Michigan one of the first states to build a strategic reserve using digital assets.
This trend is far from isolated. New Hampshire, Texas, and Arizona have enacted similar legislation, while Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are also in the discussion stage. This shows that financial sovereignty is no longer confined to gold, bonds, or hard currencies – Bitcoin is gradually gaining the status of national reserves.
“Farewell to Westphalia”: Theorizing for a Post-National Era
On the academic front, Jarrad Hope (Logos) and Peter Ludlow offer a bolder vision in Farewell to Westphalia. They argue that the nation-state model – shaped by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia – is obsolete in a digital world.
Instead, the two authors introduce the concept of the “cyberstate”: a voluntary, geographically unbounded online community that operates on a blockchain to ensure transparency, accountability, and civil liberties. According to them, blockchain is not just a financial tool, but also the political infrastructure of a new society.
The intersection of practice and philosophy
If Michigan represents a cautious move by traditional governments to experiment with Bitcoin as part of their treasury, Farewell to Westphalia suggests a more extreme scenario – one where blockchain replaces the entire nation-state model.
What they both share is a common thread: sovereignty in the 21st century is no longer static, but is being redefined by the rise of blockchain technology.
A big question for the future
As a state like Michigan experiments with allocating its budget to Bitcoin, and as scholars like Hope and Ludlow call for “breaking up the nation-state,” the question arises: will blockchain remain just a financial asset in the hands of governments, or will it become the foundation for a new model of governance that transcends traditional borders?