In a significant development, the Republic of Palau has collaborated with Ripple Labs to mint its inaugural stablecoin, the Palau Stablecoin (PSC). Jay Hunter Anson, Director of Palau’s Digital Residency Program and member of Palau’s Ministry of Finance, shared the news on Twitter, shedding light on the partnership between the Palau National Treasury and Ripple Labs.
The event took place at the National Capitol in Ngerulmud, Palau, where representatives from both the Palau National Treasury and Ripple came together to celebrate the successful launch of the Palau Stablecoin. According to Anson, this marks a crucial step in their joint exploration of the stablecoin’s potential use cases within Palau.
“The PSC launch is an important milestone in our collaboration with Ripple, as we work together to explore the possibilities of this stablecoin in specific use cases within our country. We have received explicit approval from the Palau Congress, giving the PSC pilot program an official stamp of legitimacy,” Anson tweeted.
Palau Utilizes Ripple And XRP
Palau’s Ministry of Finance has initiated the Stablecoin project to address specific needs within the nation’s financial landscape. By sponsoring this project, the ministry aims to reduce payment costs within the Republic of Palau and enhance access to financial services, particularly for underserved communities and various socio-economic groups, using digital solutions.
Remarkably, the Palau Stablecoin operates on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), showcasing Ripple’s technology as the backbone of this financial initiative.
Anson’s tweets also highlighted the meticulous approach taken in developing the Palau Stablecoin. Controlled and limited PSC pilot tests are conducted to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution co-designed with Ripple. These pilot experiments provide valuable insights into the stability and usability of the Palau Stablecoin before its potential public release.
“Our controlled pilot tests have been enlightening, and we are optimistic about the potential impact of the Palau Stablecoin on our nation’s economy,” Anson stated.
The Palau Stablecoin pilot program has already seen volunteer users actively participating in the testing phase. Videos shared by Anson on Twitter showcased smooth transactions at partner vendors in Palau, promptly confirming the transaction receipts.
A Palau Stablecoin Pilot volunteer user makes a purchase at partner vendor Kings Mart in Koror, Palau 🇵🇼 The very limited & controlled PSC pilot tests specific use cases inside #Palau to validate our solution design in collaboration with #Ripple as authorized by the Palau… pic.twitter.com/WZNCsGQ2Jt
— Jay Hunter Anson (@JHX_1138) July 19, 2023
The successful implementation of the Palau Stablecoin pilot program has garnered attention from the XRP community, and anticipation is building for the official joint press release which is scheduled for July 27, 9:00 AM Thursday morning in Ngerulmud, Palau, as Anson revealed.
As Bitcoinist reported, Ripple and the Republic of Palau entered into their partnership at the end of December last year. The island state does not have a functioning central bank and the US dollar is recognised as the main medium of exchange throughout the country.
The creation of a USD-backed stablecoin is said to be the result of the efforts of the national stablecoin initiative. In his remarks, the president described this as a “step towards our own central bank digital currency”.
As of press time, XRP was trading at $0.6870, just above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.6862. XRP bulls need to defend this support at all costs as the weekly close to unlock new upward momentum.
