The Marshall Islands' National Crypto Was Inspired by Work of Block.One

It has been almost a year since the Republic of the Marshall Islands unveiled the development of its national digital currency dubbed Sovereign.

Examining SOV's white paper, Cointelegraph noticed that it hints at a Delegate Proof of Stake system that is probably derived from EOS, specifically when it comes to block production.

Cointelegraph reached out to Jim Wagner, co-founder and CTO of SFB Technologies, the company behind the development of SOV's blockchain infrastructure, to comment on whether SOV's system is based on the EOS software developed by Block.

One's workWagner confirmed that SOV is currently under active development internally, and that the cryptocurrency's design not only has similarities to EOS, but is in fact inspired by the work of Block.

Status of the developmentPer the white paper, each SOV will be composed of 100 cents.

"The Marshall Islands is preparing to launch the Timed Release Monetary Issuance in order to introduce the SOV in a gradual manner. The Pre-SOV is a right to receive a SOV unit once the SOV is issued."

Manifesting the Islands' national libertyThe idea behind the SOV project lies in the RMI government's pursuit of "Manifesting our national liberty," as well as creating an alternative state currency to the U.S. dollar, which the small island nation has been using for decades.

In September, the Honorable David Paul - Minister In-Assistance to the President and Environment of the RMI - issued an essay, in which he explained that the RMI chose to issue a second legal tender based on blockchain technology, because centralized solutions are not workable in a country of a little over 50,000 people spread across over 1,000 Pacific islands.

Minister Paul outlined that the SOV will have a fixed, tamper-proof money supply and that its growth will be predetermined at 4% per year.

The SOV's development was challenged by the International Monetary Fund, which warned Marshallese authorities against adopting of cryptocurrency, stating that it will pose risks to the country's financial integrity, as well as relationships with foreign banks.