Sovereign Currency Act of 2018
| Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Legislature of the Marshall Islands | |
| Passed by | Legislature of the Marshall Islands |
| Passed | February 26, 2018 |
| Repealed | August 2025 |
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digital decentralized currency ("cryptocurrency") to be used as a legal tender of the Marshall Islands.[1] The act was repealed in August 2025.[2]
History
 | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2018 |
| Developer | Neema |
| License | Ministry of Finance |
The Sovereign Currency Act of 2018 was passed on February 26, 2018 by the Legislature of the Marshall Islands. It would create and issue the Sovereign (SOV), a cryptocurrency.[3] The purpose of the act was to lower the dependence on the United States dollar.[4]
The SOV was created through a partnership with Neema, a financial technology startup.[3] Neema uses the "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] Hilda C. Heine, the President of the Marshall Islands, 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. The IMF's primary concerns were that the revenue from the ICO would be smaller than expected and that governance of the SOV were not adequate.[8]
The act was repealed in August 2025.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Ejukaan, Jepilpilin Ke (26 Feb 2018). "Declaration and Issuance of the Digital Sovereign Act 2018" (PDF). Nitijela: The Parliament of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- 1 2 "Republic of the Marshall Islands: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission". IMF. Archived from the original on November 19, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- 1 2 Chavez-Dreyfuss, Gertrude (28 Feb 2018). "Marshall Islands to issue own sovereign cryptocurrency". Reuters. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ Keane, Jonathan (23 Apr 2018). "Inside the Marshall Islands' plans to launch its own legal tender cryptocurrency". The Next Web. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Marshall Islands to issue legal cryptocurrency "Sovereign"". EconoTimes. 6 Mar 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "crypto that is real money". Sov. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "How the Marshall Islands envisions its national digital currency dubbed 'sovereign'". Pasifika Rising. 2019-02-18. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ↑ "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. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
