The Republic of the Marshall Islands will release its own cryptocurrency complete with an ICO and free trading, according to two government officials that spoke with Bloomberg Wednesday, Feb. 28. The two officials, one of which is house speaker and senator Kenneth Kedi, said that the Pacific nation’s parliament this week endorsed the creation of the currency, which will be called the Sovereign (SOV). The Marshall Islands currently uses the US dollar as its official currency, and once issued the Sovereign will circulate alongside the dollar. The Sovereign will be distributed via an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) subject to final approval by council, with a rejection “unlikely,” Kedi told Bloomberg. David Paul minister-in-assistance to the president told Bloomberg that the new state-issued coin should appear before the end of 2018, adding it would be “specifically targeted for the long-term needs of the country.” The move comes at the same time as Venezuela launches its oil-pegged cryptocurrency Petro, while across the globe in Iran and Turkey lawmakers also made known they are considering a national coin. Sovereign will meanwhile address “needs” on a comparatively smaller scale — those of the islands’ 53,000 citizens. According to the report, some cash raised from the ICO will go towards healthcare for citizens who fell victim to consequences of nuclear testing by the US in the past. “This is a historic moment for our people, finally issuing and using our own currency, alongside the USD. It is another step of manifesting our national liberty,” President Hilda Heine meanwhile said in separate comments on the plan