ETH Zurich Student Builds 1:1 Switzerland in Minecraft

| blocktempo.com
A 22-year-old ETH Zurich student, Beda Good, has used open government and research data to recreate all of Switzerland in Minecraft at a 1:1 scale, with each block representing one metre. The project, called Blocks, covers 41,285 square kilometres and uses datasets for terrain, buildings, lakes, forests, roads and glaciers. A roughly 2,400-square-kilometre section around the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage site is free to download. The full Switzerland map costs at least 15 Swiss francs and is sold only to Swiss residents. A 48-franc option lets buyers add their names to a list associated with Switzerland’s 48 peaks above 4,000 metres. Because Switzerland’s highest peak reaches 4,634 metres, the map exceeds Minecraft’s standard height limit. It therefore runs with the Cubic Chunks mod on Java Edition 1.12.2, rather than the latest game version. The full download is 24 GB and requires about 60 GB of storage. Good says the terrain is based on open data, but buildings and some other features are simplified or may be inaccurate.
Neutral
The project has no direct connection to cryptocurrencies, blockchain networks, token issuance or crypto-market infrastructure. It is a gaming and open-geospatial-data story, so it does not provide a clear catalyst for crypto prices, trading volumes or market stability. Traders are unlikely to change positions in BTC, ETH or other digital assets because of the map’s release. In the short term, any market response would most likely be limited to incidental social-media attention rather than sustained trading activity. In the longer term, the project may illustrate the creative uses of open data and procedural 3D mapping, but it does not announce a blockchain application or commercial crypto integration. Unlike major regulatory decisions, exchange failures, protocol upgrades or token launches—which have historically prompted measurable market repricing—this news carries no evident crypto-specific signal. The appropriate assessment is therefore neutral.