"We the government want to make sure no one is left behind, Marshall Islands' minister for finance David Paul told the Guardian. $200 per person per quarter, which is about $800 a year, does not compel you to quit your job but it's actually like a morale booster for people. An archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, the Marshall Islands lies between Hawaii and Australia, and has a population of about 42,000."
"The UBI scheme is financed by a trust fund created under an agreement with the United States, which in part aims to compensate the Marshall Islands for decades of American nuclear testing. The fund holds more than $1.3bn in assets, with the US committing a further $500m through to 2027. Dr Huy Pham, associate professor and crypto-fintech lead at RMIT University, said the Marshall Islands scheme is the world first for a national rollout of a UBI program."
"He said the use of blockchain technology is unique in terms of a nation-wide implementation. The cryptocurrency delivery option which involves the transfer of a digital token known as a stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar was designed to address the practical challenge of delivering the money across hundreds of remote islands. We saw the opportunity in what the blockchain has to offer,"
Every resident citizen of the Marshall Islands will receive quarterly payments of about US$200, roughly US$800 annually. Recipients can choose payment into a bank account, by cheque, or as a government-backed cryptocurrency delivered via a digital wallet. First instalments were paid in late November. The payments aim to ease cost-of-living pressures and provide a social safety net amid rising costs and population loss. The scheme is financed by a trust fund tied to a US agreement, holding over $1.3bn with a further $500m commitment through 2027. The blockchain stablecoin option targets logistical delivery across hundreds of remote islands and is described as a world-first national rollout.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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