• In response to ongoing rumors, Palau’s Digital Residency Office Director working at the Ministry of Finance, Jay Hunter Anson, has clarified that its partnership with Ripple is still intact. 

• He has also given a brief recap of the country’s journey so far with Ripple since 2021. 

The Republic of Palau is in a strategic partnership with Ripple Labs as part of the plans to build a government-backed stablecoin. Interestingly, speculations on the termination of this partnership were fast spreading across some news outlets and social media. 

To clarify, Palau’s Digital Residency Office Director working at the Ministry of Finance, Jay Hunter Anson, has stated that its partnership with the blockchain company is still on. His statement was a direct response to an article published by the crypto news platform Bitcoinist, titled: “The Republic Of Palau Ceases Ripple-Based Stablecoin On Friday, Here’s Why.”

According to him, the country is with bated breath looking forward to continuing its partnership with Ripple as it seeks to refine the stablecoin solution design with XRP Ledger (XRPL).

The Palau Stablecoin was always a temporary, research and development pilot. Originally scheduled for 60 days, we’ve actually extended it another 30 days to test some additional use cases discovered along the way and allow more people to participate due to popular demand. We then need time to compile data and complete our report to government leadership. The report will include recommendations for the next pilot and also requirements for a full production program.

Anson Makes More Clarification on the Partnership With Ripple

In responding to another article making a similar termination claim, Anson explained that the reason for stopping the distribution of the Palau Stablecoin (PSC) was largely because of the decision to complete retailer redemption. Another reason is to start writing their report on the development. To control circulation, the team has minted a new PSC for the next pilot. Anson further gave some facts about the background of the project, stating that the initial talk between the Palau government and Ripple started in 2021. The work on the PSC solution design using the XRPL also started in June 2022. 

In March 2023, 200 pilot volunteers and participating retailers were called. A month later, volunteer training and onboarding as well as KYC verification was done. Testing of the solution design started in July and was completed in August 2023. This month, there is a pending survey and final report to the president and Congress. In November, the team would start the pilot 2. 

Ripple was specifically selected for this program because of its carbon neutrality and the fact that its energy efficiency is 120,000 more than the proof-of-work blockchains. In addition to that, Ripple is known for its speed, low cost, and scalability. 

Commenting on the partnership, President Surangel Whipps Jr. said:

As part of our commitment to lead in financial innovation and technologies, we are delighted to partner with Ripple. The first phase of the partnership will focus on a cross-border payments strategy and exploring options to create a national digital currency, providing the citizens of Palau with greater financial access.

The clarification of the ongoing termination rumors has had minimal impact on the XRP price as the asset records a bearish market sentiment with a current price of $0.500033. XRP is down by 1.5 percent in the last seven days, and 22.8 percent in the last 30 days.