There's an interesting story I want to share — the Republic of the Marshall Islands has made a big move on the blockchain.

They completed the world's first large-scale on-chain universal basic income (UBI) distribution via the Stellar blockchain. This isn't just simple transfers; it was achieved using a digital sovereign bond called USDM1 as the distribution tool. In other words, they moved traditional quarterly cash disbursements onto the blockchain, using digital assets to cover eligible citizens scattered across various islands.

Behind this plan is a national-level initiative called ENRA, with the Stellar Development Foundation and Crossmint also involved. The former is a key promoter of the Stellar ecosystem, while the latter has extensive experience in Web3 infrastructure. The three parties are working together with the goal of replacing traditional methods with digital transfers, making financial services more accessible to these geographically dispersed regions.

From an application perspective, this event signals several things:

**1. Sovereign digital assets have become a real demand.** In the past, we discussed concepts like CBDCs and on-chain sovereign bonds. The Marshall Islands' move turns theory into practice. USDM1, as a national digital bond, signifies that blockchain is no longer just a hype tool but is genuinely used to hold national assets and facilitate financial activities.

**2. Inclusive finance has found a new technological foundation.** Traditional banking systems are costly and difficult to deploy in island regions. The distributed nature of blockchain is naturally suited for such scenarios — as long as there's internet connectivity, participation in on-chain transactions is possible without establishing physical branches. This is a real productivity boost for underserved areas.

**3. Stellar's ecosystem value is being highlighted.** Stellar has always emphasized low-cost cross-border payments and financial inclusion. The Marshall Islands case validates its feasibility in real-world applications. Compared to other public chains with high gas fees and complex interactions, Stellar's advantages in payments and asset transfers are being activated.

Of course, this is just the beginning. The key going forward will be in implementation details — user adoption, system stability, potential legal or technical obstacles — all of which will influence the reference value for other countries and regions. But this case already proves one thing: blockchain is not just a tool for financial speculation; it can also serve as infrastructure for real national governance and improving people's livelihoods.