The Marshall Islands is progressing with the creation of a blockchain-based National Currency, reportedly called the Marshallese Sovereign or SOV.
David Paul, the Environment Minister, and Minister-in-Assistance to the President of the Marshall Islands spoke about the project at the Invest: Asia cryptocurrency conference held in Singapore on September 11, 2019.
SOV to be Introduced in Timed Release Monetary Issuance
The national virtual currency is going to introduced through a token sale in a Timed Release Monetary Issuance (TRMI) before initiating use in the Pacific Island Nation. The units sold during this phase will be exchangeable for the Marshallese Sovereign after the actual crypto is officially released.
As a country, we really only have one shot at this — @MinisterDPaul on the Marshallese digital currency project #InvestAsia — CoinDesk (@coindesk) September 11, 2019
Supported by the government, SOV will be built on a specially developed blockchain platform. With its built-in compliance features, its supply will appropriately be extending at a fixed rate.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is currently using the US dollar as its currency. The dollar will remain in use once SOV has launched, but the Marshallese Sovereign will become the National Legal Tender.
Marshall Islands Minister: Blockchain Solves Problems for Small Governments
<img src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/marshallovy_o-va_0.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1803 lazyload" width="403" height="269" />
The Pacific Island Nation has been facing logistical challenges, such as remittance costs as high as 10% per transaction, transport difficulties because of the country’s remote geography, a lack of international banking relationships and monetary policy options.
Likewise, David Paul said:
“Blockchain changes everything.” David Paul
Paul added:
“Blockchain won’t just let us create our own money for the first time — the sovereign is a new kind of money, one which enshrines our Marshallese values.” David Paul
He also highlighted that Marshallese Sovereign offers more security than conventional currencies and it diminishes the compliance burden for small nations.
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