CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) will become the first sovereign nation to issue a cryptocurrency that will be legal tender. The new currency is called Sovereign with the symbol SOV.

Detailed explanation-2: -Some countries, including China, India, Nigeria and the Bahamas, have already rolled out digital currencies. Others, like Sweden and Japan, are preparing for possible rollouts.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Bahamas became the first currency in the world to officially launch a digital currency. The digital currency, Sand Dollar was launched in October 2020 across the country. Nigeria was the second country in the world to launch CBDC after the Bahamas. It launched its digital currency named ‘eNaira’ in October 2022.

Detailed explanation-4: -According to the Atlantic Council, a forum for leadership and engagement in international affairs, there are currently 87 countries that have CBDCs on their drawing board. Among these countries, only four have managed to launch their CBDC projects, and the first amongst these countries was the Bahamas.

Detailed explanation-5: -Store of Value, also known by its acronym SoV, would accomplish the function of good money in the Gresham’s law equation – this is money people do not want to spend. Store of value types of money are important because they are a limited amount of assets and goods, making them finite, thus valuable.