The government of the Pacific island nation Palau is testing a blockchain-based savings bond system in a bid to raise capital to finance critical infrastructure projects on its islands.
A public review of the digital savings bond platform began this week, although no bonds have been issued, according to Japanese blockchain solutions company Soramitsu, which is backing the project. said in a press release Tuesday. Funds raised through the bonds will be used to build bridges, roads and other public infrastructure projects on more than 300 Palau islands.
“The savings bond initiative allows us to finance critical projects like housing, small and medium enterprise development, and infrastructure with domestically sourced capital,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said Tuesday. . in a press release.
“By investing in these areas, we boost job creation, improve business opportunities and foster a vibrant economy,” he added.
The platform runs on SORA v3 Hub Chain’s Hyperledger Iroha 2-based network. It was developed in partnership with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Palau aims to fully launch the digital savings bond system in 2025. When the platform goes live, the approximately 18,000 Palau people will be able to purchase bonds from the Palau Ministry of Finance using an app on their phone.
It is unclear how long the public review of the digital savings bond platform will last. Neither Soramitsu nor the Palau Ministry of Finance immediately responded to this question. Decrypt» requests for feedback.
The Palau Ministry of Finance must finalize its bond issuance criteria, in addition to obtaining government approval before officially rolling out the digital savings bond platform.
Palau uses the US dollar as its national currency and does not have a bond platform at the time of publication, according to Soramitsu.
Palau has already immersed himself in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In 2021, the Palau government launched a dollar-pegged stablecoin project with Ripple. And, in July, the country began deploy digital residence identifiers on Solana.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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