One of the ideas covered in my video on the plans of the current administration was the creation of a tech based “Network State”. This is a long process, and a network state will not eventuate soon. One step necessary to achieve this goal, however, is to acquire physical land. The land will be under the sovereignty of the United States, but will operate under different rules, similar to Taiwan. Terms to be on the look out for are: Special Economic Zone, Special Administrative Zone, Freedom Cities, Charter Cities.
GREENLAND
Trump recently signalled his intention to purchase Greenland, and after being told by Denmark that it was not for sale, he stated his willingness to use military force. In response, Denmark increased their military presence in the Artic Circle. Trump was also interested in purchasing Greenland last time he was in office, but the motivations and aspirations have changed significantly between the two terms. Greenland is important from a strategic security perspective but that is unlikely to be what is behind Trump’s interest in the island. Greenland has one of the worlds largest critical mineral stores, with materials essential to the development of AI, electric vehicles, and various other tech products. Deposits exist around the entire coast of the ice covered island.
Two weeks prior to the inauguration a start-up called Kobold Metals raised $537 million in a funding round raising the company’s valuation to $3 billion. Kobold uses Sam Altman’s OpenAI technology to identify where critical minerals may be found. Some of its investors include Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Andressen. All of these men have had recent audiences with the President. Kobold Metals recently signed an agreement to further search Greenland for critical minerals. It has been mining on the Disko island off the West Coast since 2022.
The push to buy Greenland has delighted those in the network state movement, including Dryden Brown, the CEO of Praxis Nation. Dryden tried to privately purchase Greenland in 2024. He views it as the perfect location for Praxis. Trump’s pick for the Ambassador to Denmark, Ken Howery, will be responsible for spearheading any negotiations regarding Greenland. Howery is a member of the Paypal Mafia, close friends with Elon Musk, and is a co-founder of VC firm, Founders Fund, with Peter Thiel.
A 2009 agreement between Greenland and Denmark stipulated that a referendum would be necessary for Greenland to push for independence. The current leader of Greenland has hinted on a running a referendum alongside the next election, which is slated to take place in April.
GAZA
Donald Trump randomly decided to claim Gaza for the United States. He was being serious even if there is no serious chance of this coming to pass. It is not a legal proposal, it does not have the support of the international community, Palestinians, or Israel. There is also no strategic advantage to having sovereignty over Gaza. It would cost for more than it would be worth to construct in the way he intends, and Neom exists as a warning for this. Neom is the futuristic ‘country within a country’ in Saudi Arabia. Funded by it’s $620 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, Neom has failed to meet any of it’s projects goals, consistently running up against financial, logistical and geopolitical problems. Eight years into the build, Neom seems destined for failure. However, it is important to note that there is precedent of a Sovereign Wealth Fund being used in this way. Keep in mind that Sovereign Wealth Funds are not controlled by congress, so there is far less oversight on how the money is used.
It is likely that Trump will push to come up with a settlement of the crisis in Gaza that is favourable to Israel. For years, Palestine (but Gaza in particular) has been used by defence and intelligence start-ups to test their products before selling them to the rest of the world. This has been extensively documented in Anthony Lowenstein’s The Palestinian Laboratory. There is a large concentration of tech companies in Israel, with a region even being dubbed Silicon Wadi. My assumption is that the US and private sector will help with the rebuild of Gaza with the intention that some part of the strip will be annexed by Israel and used as a Special Economic Zone with special agreements made for American companies (this is a guess! No one has said this!).
FEDERAL LAND
One of the major initiatives that the tech industry is pushing in relation to the Trump administration are ‘Freedom Cities’, land subject to less regulation and oversight where start-ups can self-govern. The Frontier Foundation recently wrote an open letter to Trump encouraging him to prioritise this initiative, gaining the support of many in the tech and investment industries. They also attached a memo which outlines what government actions would need to be taken in order for freedom cities to become a reality.
A lot of these actions are underway with the President issuing an Executive Order declaring a National Energy Emergency. This was compounded by an excutive order focused on Unleashing American Energy and one focused on Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation. All of these work to reduce oversight and remove regulations related to things like the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The Council on Environmental Quality has also been neutered, as it is no longer in allowed to implement regulations, only provide guidance.
Doug Burgum, a tech billionaire from North Dakota, has been appointed as the Head of the Department of the Interior. He has made swift moves to implement the President’s Executive Orders. Secretary’s Order 3417, Addressing the National Energy Emergency, calls for the immediate identification the authorities needed to identify, permit, lease, and develop land needed for energy resources and critical minerals. It also calls for all agencies to expedite the authorisation of infrastructure, energy, environmental, or natural resource projects. Agencies have 15 days to submit their plans to accomplish these things. Secretary’s Order 3421, Achieving Prosperity through Deregulation, directs the department to eliminate 10 existing regulations for every one regulation implemented. Regulations that can be eliminated are to be identified immediately. Secretary’s Order 3418, Unleashing American Energy, revokes a number of existing EOs which regulate development and protect the environment.
LOS ANGELES
Rick Caruso, Los Angeles Real Estate Billionaire, has launched an initiative for the private sector to rebuild Los Angeles called Steadfast LA. A large part of the pitch is “bypassing bureaucracy and cutting red tape” and modernising the town’s design which he spoke about with Joe Rogan. This may involve private investors buying large parcels of land.
One of the major investors in Steadfast LA is Joe Lonsdale of 8VC. Lonsdale is one of the founders on Palantir and started his career working for his mentor, Peter Thiel, at Clarium Capital. He also runs the Cicero Institute which works to eliminate homelessness in very inhumane ways. The Institute rails against what Lonsdale calls “The Homelessness Industrial Complex” trying to push legislation away from a housing first approach and making encampments illegal.
Caruso may be considering running for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2026. He lost the race to current Karen Bass in 2022 despite spending a significant amount of money on the race. In order to run he would need to rehabilitate his image, after using private firefighters to protect his businesses during the recent fires.
Share this post