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The Sovereign Yidindji Government has launched a sovereign digital currency (GovCoin). Yidindji is an aboriginal Australian micronation that is part of the Australian Aboriginal Sovereignty. The new payment system is connected with MetaMUI's self-sovereign identity (SSID) system that is already used in retail stores and government offices. Details are still sketchy, but the press release says "it's a convertible currency whose collateral assets are gold and silver and other minerals and natural resources... Money issuance, backed by a digital certificate, is also backed with collateral assets."

The Republic of Palau has partnered with Ripple to develop a U.S. dollar-backed digital currency for the country using the XRP Ledger. If launched, it could be the world's first government-based national stablecoin (GovCoin). (The Pacific island nation has no central bank and uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency, so a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is out of the question.) The IMF hasn't opined on this yet, but it was only a month ago that it completed its 2021 Article IV mission and no mention was made of any such development.

"Before addressing how the Postal Service might be justifying its authority to launch the pilot program, it's helpful to consider what exactly is taking place. The pilot program only operates in four locations across four cities, and it offers a rather roundabout form of check cashing. Instead of receiving cash directly, customers can exchange a business or payroll check up to $500 for a single‐​use gift card after paying a flat fee of $5.95. This design may appear odd, but it was chosen quite carefully. Instead of "cashing checks," the Postal Service is "selling gift cards.""

Three African country governments are working on a cross-border stablecoin-based payment system with The Open Network (TON), a blockchain designed by the founders of the Telegram messaging platform. The three countries are Republic of Congo (Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy) Cameroon (Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ministry of Digital Economy). Cameroon and the Republic of Congo are part of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC), a six-nation union that shares a common currency (CFA franc) and central bank

The Republic of Palau has collaborated with Ripple Labs to mint its inaugural stablecoin, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) based Palau Stablecoin (PSC). The island state doesn't have a central bank and the US dollar is the country's main medium of exchange. The Ministry aims to reduce payment costs within the Palau and enhance access to financial services, particularly for underserved communities and socio-economic groups, using digital solutions. https://twitter.com/JHX_1138/status/1683445766952562689

"The transition to national digital currencies gives governments the ability to automate transactions and create conditions under which it can be spent. This raises crucial implications about democracy that must be identified and considered before central bank digital currencies become a reality."

The Colombian government is reportedly planning to launch a digital currency to curb tax evasion and enhance the traceability of citizens' transactions, according to Luis Carlos Reyes, head of Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), the country's tax authority.

Myanmar exiles ousted in a 2021 coup are pressing the US Federal Reserve to endorse their bid to use $1 billion in funds frozen by the US to back a digital currency and a plan to establish a new central bank. If the exiles can get US support, they would then seek to establish a new central bank that could issue the digital currency to help support the opposition's "revolutionary efforts."

The national cryptocurrency of the Central African Republic, Sango Coin, is now on sale. People looking to buy the token need at least $100 in Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Tether, USD Coin, Binance USD, or DAI. Buyers cannot withdraw or transfer their tokens until the lock-up period is over. However, only 5% of the tokens had been sold in the first 24 hours of the public sale.

The Thai Prime Minister reportedly announced a 10,000 baht handout of "time stamped" blockchain-based digital money to the 50 million Thais earning less than 70,000 baht per month. It is time stamped in that recipients must begin spending the money within six months on food, nonalcoholic beverages and consumer products bought in stores, and only within their electoral districts.

"Community currencies are used to pay for products or services within specific groups defined by geographical boundaries or specific common interests. Financial crises, social emergence in developing countries, and increased access to digital devices have stimulated a growing number of communities worldwide to develop digital currency projects. These projects use technologies ranging from traditional plastic cards to mobile phones and blockchain technologies. Following the design science research approach, this paper analyzes digital community currencies (DCCs) by developing a taxonomy based on platform architecture, governance, transactionality and virtuality. By investigating 22 DCC platforms around the world, 4 groups were distinguished: local, proprietary, commons and cyber. The identification of these four different groups of digital community currencies allows us to better discuss the potentials and limitations of each one of them. The presented taxonomy can be useful to researchers and practitioners both to explain and to design DCC platforms. Discussing each of the emerging categories from the proposed taxonomy helps us to provide insights into DCCs, offering a new theoretical frame for investigating the particular case of digital payment platforms."

A group of U.S. lawmakers introduced the "Electronic Currency And Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act" to direct the Treasury Secretary to develop and issue an electronic version of the U.S. dollar, with an eye to preserving privacy and anonymity in transactions. The electronic dollar would be a bearer instrument that would be held on phones or cards, and be functionally identical to physical bank notes.

"Our proposal for Treasury Accounts would provide low cost, no-frills payment services and encourage the accumulation of emergency savings reserves.  The breadth of the eligibility criteria would need to be determined, but they would be designed to meet the needs of low-income individuals and particularly the unbanked and underbanked, leveraging the experiences that the Department has gained working with fintech firms and non-profit groups during the Pandemic. "

Bills introduced in the Texas House and Senate would require the state comptroller to establish a digital currency that is fully backed by gold and fully redeemable in cash or gold. The comptroller would be required to create a mechanism to use this digital currency in everyday transactions. In practice, individuals would be able to purchase digital currency from the state. The state would then use the money to purchase gold that would be held in the Texas Bullion Depository or another secure vault. The bills must next be assigned to committees, after which they must get a hearing and pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.

President Surangel Whipps Jr. reportedly confirmed that the Republic of Palau continues to work with Ripple on the creation of a government-issued US dollar-backed stablecoin (the US dollar is Palau's national currency). Last year Ripple announced a partnership with Palau to explore a national digital currency and its use cases based on XRP Ledger, initially focusing on cross-border payments.

"The Zimbabwean Finance Minister, Mtuli Ncube, has said his government plans to halt the local currency's freefall by linking it to gold and establishing a currency board. Ncube said these measures could permanently end the local currency's volatility."

Thailand's finance ministry is going ahead with a plan to pay a social benefit in digital currency. Up to 45 million Thais will be eligible to receive 10,000 baht (about $280) in digital money on August 1, 2024, about two-thirds of the average monthly income in the country. There are numerous restrictions on usage, including know your customer (KYC) verification that will exclude prisoners and people and businesses with records of economic abuse. There are also restrictions on the items that can be purchased with the digital currency.