According to PANews, the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. Pacific territory, has passed legislation allowing Tinian Island to issue a stablecoin, overturning Governor Arnold Palacios' veto from April 11. The House of Representatives approved the bill with 14 votes in favor and 2 against, following the Senate's re-evaluation on May 9, which passed with 7 votes in favor and 1 against. The legislation permits the Tinian Island government to authorize the issuance, management, and redemption of the stablecoin "Marianas US Dollar" (MUSD) by the Finance Minister. If issued before July, Tinian Island could become the first U.S. public entity to launch a stablecoin, ahead of Wyoming, which has similar plans.
Tinian Island, with a population of just over 2,000, relies heavily on tourism and is one of the four municipalities of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island has selected local tech service company Mariana Ray as the exclusive infrastructure provider for MUSD, which will be issued on the eCash blockchain. A spokesperson for Mariana Ray declined to comment but mentioned that more details would be released on May 19.
