Marshall Islands Launches World’s First Blockchain-Based Universal Basic Income Program

Marshall Islands Finance Ministry executed universal basic income (UBI) payments using blockchain-based sovereign bonds. This marks the first government deployment of this payment method globally. The Pacific island nation distributed funds through USDM1 digital bonds operating on Stellar’s network infrastructure.

The ministry developed the system alongside Stellar Development Foundation and Crossmint to modernize Economic Net Resource Allocation (ENRA), the country’s existing universal income initiative. Physical currency distribution, occurring four times annually, has been removed in favor of instant digital transfers reaching citizens across remote island locations.

USDM1 functions as dollar-denominated government debt instruments with full Treasury bill collateralization. Crossmint built the Lomalo wallet application specifically for receiving these blockchain-based payments. Citizens access funds immediately through wallet accounts hosted on Stellar’s payment rails.

Finance Ministry officials explained that USDM1 bonds follow Brady-bond legal frameworks established under New York commercial law. This structure has governed international sovereign debt markets for multiple decades. The approach relies on binding legal agreements rather than administrative policy decisions.

An independent trustee maintains custody of Treasury collateral separately from government or corporate control. Bond redemption terms are legally binding and cannot be modified unilaterally. Each digital unit maintains one-to-one backing through short-maturity U.S. government securities held in segregated trust accounts.

Stellar Development Foundation’s CEO Denelle Dixon called the deployment a practical demonstration of blockchain utility for expanding financial access. The technology addresses service delivery challenges that existed previously across the island’s geography.

Ministry representatives emphasized that monetary sovereignty remains unchanged because ENRA operates as a fiscal distribution infrastructure rather than a currency replacement. Each payment unit corresponds directly to Treasury securities maintained by third-party trustees with complete backing throughout the system.

Geographic dispersion created the primary challenge motivating this technological approach. Island communities separated by ocean distance made traditional cash distribution logistically complex. Ministry officials stated the blockchain payment system was engineered specifically for the Marshall Islands’ operational requirements.

The multiyear development process addressed infrastructure limitations inherent to the nation’s scattered island geography. The distance between population centers and the restricted physical presence of banking shaped daily financial realities, influencing system design. The blockchain approach solved practical service delivery obstacles and also preserved established legal frameworks governing sovereign debt instruments.