🧵 The Marshall Islands’ blockchain story connects government benefits, household electricity payments and institutional finance. @Algorand appears in its earlier currency proposal. @StellarOrg powers its onchain benefits channel. @CantonNetwork hosts a newer USDM1 repo transaction. Follow the evolution. 👇 Start with SOV. In 2018, the Marshall Islands passed legislation for a sovereign digital currency alongside the US dollar. In March 2020, SFB Technologies announced that SOV would use Algorand technology. Then the policy changed The IMF confirms that the Monetary Authority Act passed in August 2025 repealed the SOV Act. USDM1 emerged with a different legal and financial structure. This was a change of approach; the announcements do not establish a technical migration from Algorand to Stellar. So what is USDM1? A US dollar-denominated digital sovereign bond issued by the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Its documentation describes 1:1 backing by short-dated US Treasuries and a structure under New York law. The US dollar remains the country’s legal currency. Now connect that instrument to public benefits ENRA, the country’s universal basic income programme, launched in November 2025. Eligible citizens can receive benefits through conventional channels or choose the digital option: USDM1 delivered over Stellar into their Lomalo wallet. The roles are clear: Marshall Islands → sovereign issuer USDM1 → digital sovereign bond Stellar Disbursement Platform → distribution @crossmint → wallet infrastructure Lomalo → citizen-facing application SDF also provided a multimillion-dollar grant for USDM1’s development. Geography explains the practical need. Communities are spread across remote islands with limited banking access Digital delivery can reduce dependence on physical cash shipments and journeys to collect payments. But receiving funds is only part of the story. People also need ways to use them. Then in August 2026, Marshalls Energy Company announced a partnership with Lomalo for electricity-credit top-ups directly through the app, with launch scheduled for August 26. A government-benefits wallet was gaining another everyday use The announcement confirms the app integration, without specifying the blockchain settlement of individual electricity purchases. Meanwhile, USDM1 was developing an institutional role @Anchorage Digital describes its involvement in custody, settlement and collateral-management infrastructure. That opens another avenue: institutional holdings and secured financing On August 27, 2026, Virtu Financial, M1X Global and Tradeweb announced a completed onchain repo using USDM1 as collateral. According to the announcement, the execution-and-repurchase cycle took under ten minutes. This transaction settled on @CantonNetwork. Another development followed on September 9. Nonco announced that it would accept USDM1 from eligible counterparties and post it as collateral across derivatives, financing and institutional trading activities. The instrument’s uses now extend from public benefits to institutional financing. Keep the network roles clear: Algorand → historical SOV proposal Stellar → USDM1 benefits distribution Canton → completed institutional repo These are distinct projects and workflows within the Marshall Islands evolving digital-finance story. There is also an ongoing policy debate. The IMF welcomed repeal of the SOV Act but raised concerns about the planned global USDM1 rollout, including institutional capacity and financial risks. Those concerns belong alongside the operational milestones. What makes this story worth following is the connection between public finance and practical access. A sovereign digital bond A benefits programme A citizen wallet Electricity top-ups Institutional custody and collateral. Stellar delivers USDM1 to citizens. The wider ecosystem brings it into capital markets. From island communities to institutional finance.