Blockchain Firm Tangem To Produce Physical Banknotes For Marshall Islands’ National Cryptocurrency
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has chosen smart banknote platform Tangem to issue the physical banknotes of the Sovereign (SOV), the national cryptocurrency of the island.
Based on blockchain technology, SOV was developed by the RMI, in partnership with Israeli startup Neema, using a public blockchain protocol called “Yokwe,” which is designed to mitigate know-your-customer (KYC) and financial crime concerns by linking accounts to real, government-verified identities. The cryptocurrency claims to allow fast, cheap, and global transactions while resisting the abuse by bad actors.
Marshall Islands’ partnership with Tangem, which recently received a $15 million investment from SBI Crypto Investment, is designed to ensure all citizens of the island have fair and equal access to their national cryptocurrency, whether or not they have Internet connection. A physical SOV will reportedly be a “controllable mechanism” for issuing the currency by the Marshall government.
“Each Tangem card will take the form of a unique physical banknote with secure blockchain-enabled microprocessor inside and combine the familiar advantages of paper banknotes with the security of blockchain technology,” Tangem said. “These protected notes will be fully transparent, 100% secure, decentralized, and represent a controllable mechanism of currency issuance and circulation for the state.”
Andrey Kurennykh, co-founder of Tangem, said that they are excited to partner with the Republic of the Marshall Islands to do something that has never been done before: issue a digital currency as official legal tender.
“As the IMF has noted, the world is moving towards the widespread adoption of digital currencies, and we are excited to support the birth of the new global digital economy,” Kurennykh said.
David Paul, Minister-in-Assistance to the President of the Marshall Islands, said that Tangem will help them ensure all citizens, including those living on more remote outer islands, are able to easily and practically transact using SOV.
“We are excited to bring in Tangem as another reputable and forward-thinking partner on our journey to create the world’s first sovereign digital currency,” Paul said.
