The Republic of Palau and blockchain development firm Cryptic Labs on Tuesday announced the launch of Root Name System (RNS), a digital residency program.
Palau President Surangel S. Whips Jr. has signed an agreement to offer digital residency to “all global users” through RNS under the country’s Digital Residency Act.
The Republic of Palau is located in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of about 340 islands with 18,221 inhabitants. President Whips said:
“Our digital residency program will have the capability of internationally recognized standards of identity verification to ensure that Palau maintains the rule of law and our reputational integrity. We look forward to applying to participate in Palau’s digital residency program.” Welcome to all global citizens.
The Digital Residency program provides a blockchain-based legal ID, digital residency to democratize access to global business opportunities, and geography-agnostic governance to aid remote corporate formation and operations. It also allows users to obtain an address, shipping services and digital signature verification.
Using RNS, the digital residency program boasts end-to-end encryption that lets users control how much location and ID data they want to share with others. Once approved, users will receive a physical ID card and an ID in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). It will be used to “build the foundation for secure ID verification and access to KYC functions, and legal ID and verification on-chain.”
Brill Wang, CEO of Cryptic Labs, said in the announcement,
“This partnership with the Republic of Palau will revolutionize economic growth in Palau and around the world. The world is beginning to recognize the practicality, versatility and truly transformative power of digital identity – it is a swift step towards that future.”
Applicants for digital residency can apply by creating an account and paying with their credit card or cryptocurrency.
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The Digital Residency Program is the second major effort Palau has taken in blockchain adoption. In November 2021, the West Pacific island nation announced a partnership with fintech firm Ripple (XRP) to develop an eco-friendly digital currency to aid in cross-border payments.
