In 2018, the Marshall Islands passed a Sovereign Currency Act, declaring its intention to release a new, national digital currency. In an essay published by Coindesk on September 4, The Honorable David Paul, Minister In-Assistance to the President and Environment of the Marshall Islands, stated that the official launch of the cryptocurrency – to be known as the sovereign (SOV) coin — will be announce at Invest:Asia 2019, upcoming in Singapore on September 12. Currently, the Marshall Islands uses the U.S. Dollar. One practical reason for creating their own currency is that Marshallese citizens often send or receive money using remittance services, paying fees of up to 10% per transaction. And also pointed out, even simple things like acquiring and installing ATMs becomes complicated when you are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. By using cryptocurrency, the country does not need to create a central bank and manage the printing and processing of paper money.
With respect to the competing blockchain issues of psuedonimity and privacy, Minister Paul said; “Every individual using SOV must be identified by an approved verifier of their choice, such as a bank or an exchange. This will close the secrecy and anonymity loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists. However, it is crucial that individual users should have a reasonable expectation of privacy – specifically, the ability to choose when to disclose your information, what exactly to share, and with whom. We are committed to providing this privacy with SOV.
