PANews reported on May 16 that according to Cointelegraph, the Northern Mariana Islands, a Pacific territory of the United States, passed a bill to allow Tinian, a subordinate island, to issue stablecoins, overturning the veto of Governor Arnold Palacios on April 11. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives with 14 votes in favor and 2 votes against, and the Senate also reconsidered it on May 9 with 7 votes in favor and 1 vote against. According to the bill, the Tinian government can issue, manage, and redeem the stablecoin "Marianas US Dollar" (MUSD) to the authorized Secretary of the Treasury. If it is issued before July, Tinian may become the first US public entity to issue a stablecoin, ahead of Wyoming, which also plans to issue a stablecoin.
Tinian has a population of just over 2,000 people and its economy relies on tourism. Its local government is one of the four autonomous cities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island has selected local technology service company Mariana Ray as the exclusive infrastructure provider for MUSD, and the stablecoin will be issued based on the eCash blockchain. A Mariana Ray spokesperson declined to comment, saying only that more details will be announced on May 19.
