Marshall Islands tests UBI with blockchain stablecoin wallet

National UBI sends $800 a year to Marshall Islands citizens, with an optional stablecoin wallet to reach remote atolls and test on-chain social safety nets.​

The Marshall Islands has implemented a nationwide universal basic income program offering citizens the option to receive payments via cryptocurrency, according to a report from The Guardian.

Under the initiative, every resident citizen is entitled to quarterly payments of approximately $200, totaling about $800 annually. The government stated the program aims to offset rising living costs and slow outward migration.

The first payments were distributed in late November, with recipients given the option to receive funds through bank deposits, paper checks, or a government-backed digital wallet that delivers payments on the blockchain.

Finance Minister David Paul told The Guardian the scheme was designed to ensure broad inclusion rather than replace employment income. Paul stated the payments are intended to act as a social safety net and a morale boost rather than a substitute for work.

The Marshall Islands, a Pacific nation of approximately 42,000 people located between Hawaii and Australia, faces economic and geographic challenges. Many communities are spread across remote atolls, complicating the delivery of public services and financial assistance. Officials said the cryptocurrency option was introduced to help overcome those logistical barriers.

The program is funded through a trust established under an agreement with the United States, partly aimed at compensating the Marshall Islands for decades of US nuclear testing. The fund holds more than $1.3 billion in assets, with Washington committed to contributing an additional $500 million through 2027.

Dr. Huy Pham, an associate professor and crypto-fintech lead at RMIT University, described the initiative as a global first. Pham stated this represents the world’s first national rollout of a UBI program, noting that the use of blockchain technology at a countrywide level is highly unusual. The crypto payments are made using a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, a choice officials said provides price stability while allowing fast, traceable transfers across hundreds of islands.

Marshall Islands stablecooin

Uptake of the digital option remains limited, according to data from the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration. Approximately 60% of the first payments were made via bank deposits, with most of the remainder issued as checks. Only around a dozen people have opted to receive their UBI through the digital wallet.

Sam Altman’s World, originally launched as Worldcoin, has positioned its blockchain initiative as a path toward a global UBI mechanism. The project verifies each person’s unique human identity using biometric scans. The “Orb” device creates a World ID that proves a user is real and not a bot, enabling distribution of its native token, WLD. Verified users receive allocations of WLD, which some view as a form of UBI within the network. World launched World Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, last year. The network serves its 15 million verified users with a “World ID” obtained via iris scanning.