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International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff concluded that the issuance of the digital currency SOV by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) as a second legal tender would raise risks to macroeconomic and financial stability as well as financial integrity. The RMI's legal, regulatory, and institutional framework is not yet ready to accommodate the SOV issuance and manage associated risks. SOV issuance could jeopardize the RMI's last USD corresponding banking relationship (CBR). This combined with anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) risks (including those related to the SOV) could disrupt external aid and other important financial flows, resulting in a significant drag on the economy. Hence, the potential cost of the SOV issuance will likely outweigh the expected benefits.

If the Republic of the Marshall Islands' state-sponsored SOV cryptocurrency takes off SFB Technologies, the software company building the coin, would become incredibly wealthy. SFB Technologies would receive 7.5% of the coin's supply, which it could use after five years of its launch-which could be at any point after the 18-month-long presale begins, if the government implements the idea. The SOV Foundation, the non-profit overseeing the development of the project, will hold its presale for SOV in the next couple of months, just in case the Marshall Islands' government, which is still deliberating whether to issue the coin, goes ahead with the project. The SOV will be built on the Algorand blockchain.

The SOV Development Foundation, a Marshall Islands foundation overseeing the development, distribution and implementation of the Sovereign (SOV) blockchain, today announced its board of economic and technical advisors as the final phase in preparation for the first public auction of rights to the SOV, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency and the official legal tender of the Marshall Islands.  The Marshall Islands and the SOV Development Foundation are ushering in a groundbreaking development in decentralized finance (DeFi), which is transforming the finance industry and now one of the fastest growing sectors in crypto.

Via the Timed Release Monetary Issuance anyone (regardless of location) can register for the SOV pre-sale on the newly launched website of the SOV Development Foundation. The actual pre-sale for SOV - in which users buy TRMI units that can later be exchanged for SOV units - is not yet live and is still a work in progress.

The Marshall Islands SOV Foundation is set to start selling SOV subscription rights to international investors by auction over a period of 18 months, to give the government time to judge how the SOV works within the current market and also assess demand for the instrument. It will give the government an indication of how strong is international interest, the liquidity on the exchanges and if the instrument will be volatile. The pilot will allow them time to make up their mind about whether to push forward with a full-scale launch and put in place the relevant institutions and regulations.

IMF staff, in their concluding statement of their 2023 Article IV consultation mission, expressed concerns about the Fintech initiatives of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). These included the enactment of the DAO Act and the move to start registration of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and the potential launch of a stablecoin. Concerns included capacity constraints and questions regarding the understanding of the authorities to adequately regulate and supervise these initiatives. IMF staff also encouraged the authorities to expeditiously enact the SOV Repeal Bill. (In 2018 the RMI legislature passed the SOV Act making the RMI government-backed SOV crypto-asset a second legal tender, in addition to the US dollar, about which IMF staff had expressed reservations.)

The Marshall Islands today announced the establishment of the SOV Development Fund, a not-for-profit organization set up to support the government in the establishment, maintenance and implementation of the SOV digital legal tender.

SOV (short for "sovereign") is a blockchain-based currency and the new legal tender of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The blockchain for the Marshall Islands SOV will be built using Algorand technology. The SOV will circulate alongside the US dollar.

The issuance of the Marshallese sovereign (SOV) was announced in an essay by The Honorable David Paul - Minister In-Assistance to the President and Environment of the Marshall Islands - published by Coindesk on Sept. 4.

"Lately, the store of value (SoV) narrative has dominated the conversation around Bitcoin. But if you're a data-driven individual (and I suspect most of you are), then you might be wondering how to quantify this narrative. Let's dig in and see what the data shows us."

"The problem remains that the Marshall Islands and similar Pacific island nations are in dire financial straits. They aren't stupid or dissolute - they're desperate."

Here's a CBDC Tracker covers similar territory. The main difference is that it includes wholesale CBDC and some initial sovereign offerings (ISOs) such as the Marshall Islands SOV and Venezuelan Petro. Also it includes projects that are arguably simply central bank run blockchain-based payment rails (eg Cambodia's Project Inthanon). Finally, as far as I can tell, the tabulation doesn't include links to the official (or unofficial) sources of the information. But, on the other hand, it includes some useful information that doesn't fit my more compact presentation, like announcement date, status, technology, and programmability.

Neema, the firm managing the Marshall Islands cryptocurrency program, has made a list of countries potentially open to a cryptocurrency as legal tender, looking for smaller countries that don't have their own currencies and which vote alongside Israel in the United Nations. Neema's law firm Yigal Arnon & Co are reportedly helping the Marshall Islands central bank to create the legislation needed to operate its own currency.