Finance:Sovereign Currency Act of 2018
| Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Legislature of the Marshall Islands | |
| Enacted by | Legislature of the Marshall Islands |
| Passed | February 26, 2018 |
Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 was a statute of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands which was passed on February 26, 2018. The act created and issued a digital decentralized currency ("cryptocurrency") that is used as a legal tender of the Marshall Islands.[1]
The Act was repealed in August 2025. [2].
History
| Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 | |
|---|---|
| File:150px | |
| Development | |
| Initial release | 2018 |
| Developer(s) | Neema |
| License | Ministry of Finance |
The Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 creates and issues the Sovereign (SOV), its own cryptocurrency.[3] The purpose of the Act was to lower the dependence on the USD.[4]
The Sovereign cryptocurrency was created through a partnership with Neema, a financial technology startup.[3] Neema uses "Yokwe" protocol to ensure anonymity while also linking each account with a verified government identity that is both encrypted and private.[5] The SOV is issued by the Ministry of Finance and was introduced through an initial coin offering (ICO). The number of SOV’s in circulation will start at 24 million and will grow by 4% each year.[6] RMI President Hilda C. Heine called the creation of SOV "another step of manifesting our national liberty."[7]
In September 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report warning the Marshall Islands not to launch its own cryptocurrency. Primary concerns about the cryptocurrency included that the revenue from the ICO would be smaller than expected and that proper governance on the cryptocurrency were not adequate.[8]
See also
- Bitcoin in El Salvador
- Petro (token)
References
- ↑ Ejukaan, Jepilpilin Ke (26 Feb 2018). "Declaration and Issuance of the Digital Sovereign Act 2018". https://rmiparliament.org/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2018/2018-0053/DeclarationandIssuanceoftheSovereignCurrencyAct2018_1.pdf. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Republic of the Marshall Islands: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission". IMF. https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/09/10/cs-091025-republic-of-the-marshall-islands-concluding-statement-of-the-2025-article-iv-mission.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chavez-Dreyfuss, Gertrude (28 Feb 2018). "Marshall Islands to issue own sovereign cryptocurrency". https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands/marshall-islands-to-issue-own-sovereign-cryptocurrency-idUSKCN1GC2UD. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ Keane, Jonathan (23 Apr 2018). "Inside the Marshall Islands' plans to launch its own legal tender cryptocurrency". https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/04/23/marshall-islands-cryptocurrency/. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Marshall Islands to issue legal cryptocurrency "Sovereign"". 6 Mar 2018. https://www.econotimes.com/Marshall-Islands-to-issue-legal-cryptocurrency-Sovereign-1184602. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "crypto that is real money.". https://www.sov.global/. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "How the Marshall Islands envisions its national digital currency dubbed 'sovereign'" (in en). 2019-02-18. https://www.pasifikarising.org/how-the-marshall-islands-envisions-its-national-digital-currency-dubbed-sovereign/.
- ↑ "Republic of the Marshall Islands: 2018 Article IV Consultation - Press Release; Staff Report; And Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of the Marshall Islands". International Monetary Fund 18/270. Sep 2018. https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/CR/2018/cr18270.ashx. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
