But they still get along fine and carve out their own niche, as long as they don't step on the big boy's toes.

Facilitating drug smuggling is likely to get your seastead stomped out. But there are many activities that won't upset established regimes, while still allowing more freedom for your residents (and flags of convenience might give you even more of a deterrent). Whether a seastead could be a wealth producer through tech industry or would simply remain a drug-vacation destination remains to be seen.