**Vitalik Buterin Tackles Governance and Membership in Network States**

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin addressed key challenges in his "network states" concept at the Network State Conference 2024 in Singapore. Speaking on Sept. 22, Buterin discussed the idea of online communities forming physical, politically autonomous communities. Reflecting on his Zuzalu experiment in Montenegro, where 200 participants from the Ethereum community and various industries collaborated for 60 days, Buterin highlighted unresolved governance and membership issues.

While participants enjoyed the experience, Buterin noted the lack of clear next steps for governance. He emphasized the need for productive relationships between network states to avoid unproductive tribalism. Buterin concluded that while popup cities have potential, solving governance and membership issues is crucial for future progress.