On the Tuesday Republic of Palau announced a partnership with blockchain development firm Cryptic Labs to launch a sovereign-backed digital residency program using Root Name System (RNS).

Palau’s President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. signed a contract to allow all global citizens to claim digital residency using the RNS under the country’s Digital Residency Act into law on December 22. This enables them to get some of the perks of residency on the island nation of 18,000 people without physically living there.  The Republic of Palau comprises 340 islands inhabited by 18,221 residents in the western Pacific Ocean.

Digital residency is a blockchain-based legal ID, digital residency democratizing access to global business opportunities, and a geo-agnostic governance system enabling remote corporate formation and operation. In addition, users can verify their addresses, shipping services, and digital signatures.

The digital residency program makes use of RNS for end-to-end encryption, enabling users to control how much of their location and ID data is shared. Users will receive a physical ID card and an ID as a nonfungible token (NFT) once they have been approved. On-chain legal identification and verification will be made possible by using this technology for "secure ID verification and access to KYC functions."

In an interview, President Whipps told, "One of the things that we, as a country, wanted to do is diversify our economy and create a financial center hub,". "As a small country, that's challenging. But when you're moving digitally, that's easy."

Bril Wang, CEO of Cryptic Labs said in the announcement, “This partnership with The Republic of Palau will revolutionize economic development both in Palau and around the world. The world is beginning to recognize the practicality, versatility, and truly transformative power of digital identity this is a swift step towards that future.”

Indrani Bose

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA