RB Camacho
WITH Tinian’s issuance of the CNMI’s first fiat-backed stable coin — the Marianas U.S. Dollar — following the enactment of Tinian Local Law 23-3, which also legalizes online gambling on Tinian, Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho expressed his appreciation for a new potential source of economic diversification for the CNMI.
The authors of the new law are Tinian Sens. Karl King-Nabors, Jude U. Hofschneider and Frank Q. Cruz.
In an interview on Monday, Camacho said he’s not familiar with cryptocurrency, but based on what he has heard, he’s willing to “see what we can get out of it.”
He said it’s good to “expose” the CNMI to the digital economy.
He also believes that digital assets can benefit the entire Commonwealth, not just Tinian. Asked about the risk of money laundering and other unlawful activities, Camacho said that “we need to go to the bottom of that,” but in the meantime, “we have to explore the economic potential [of T.L.L. 23-3] to drive our economy.”
“I’ve talked to Sen. Karl King-Nabors and told him I really appreciate him and his fellow Tinian leaders for seeing that angle in developing something that is going to benefit all of us,” the Saipan mayor said.
Tinian Rep. Patrick San Nicolas, another proponent of the measure, said, “This is not only for Tinian. This is for the whole Commonwealth.”
Last week, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan announced that the Tinian Treasury has officially issued and minted the Marianas U.S. Dollar or MUSD, marking “a historic milestone for U.S. states, territories, and commonwealths, and a pivotal moment in the evolution of money.”
MUSD is exclusively issued as a Simple Ledger Protocol token on the eCash (XEC) network, the most widely adopted Bitcoin token standard. Tinian has chosen CNMI-based Marianas Rai Corp. as the exclusive provider of software and services for the issuance and redemption of MUSD, including the growth of the related technology and business development ecosystem.
