In Brief:
- The Republic of Palau and blockchain development firm Cryptic Labs have announced a partnership.
- The Root Name System (RNS), a digital residency scheme, has been launched under this partnership.
- Global citizens can enjoy some of the benefits of residency on the 18,000-strong island nation without really residing there using the RNS.
The Root Name System (RNS), a digital residency scheme, has been launched by the Republic of Palau and blockchain development firm Cryptic Labs.
The digital residency program offers a blockchain-based legal ID, digital residency to promote access to global commercial possibilities, and geography-agnostic governance to aid in the formation and operation of remote corporations. Users can also get an address, use shipping services, and verify their digital signatures using the digital residency program.
Global people can claim digital residence backed by the Republic of Palau utilising the Root Name System, according to Cryptic Labs. In other words, they can enjoy some of the benefits of residency on the 18,000-strong island nation without really residing there.
The digital residency program uses RNS to provide end-to-end encryption, allowing users to choose how much location and ID data they want to share with others. Users who are accepted will receive a physical ID card as well as an ID as a nonfungible token (NFT). This will be utilised to allow for “safe ID verification and access to KYC functions, as well as laying the groundwork for legal ID and verification on-chain.”
Palau’s President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. signed an agreement to provide “all global users” digital residency through the RNS under the country’s Digital Residency Act to kick off the cooperation between Palau, Cryptic Labs, and the sovereign-backed digital residency initiative. President Whipps made the following statement:
“To ensure that Palau preserves the rule of law and our reputational integrity, our Digital Residency Program will have capacity for internationally accepted standards of identification verification.” All worldwide citizens are invited to apply for Palau’s digital residence programme.”
The president emphasized that the goal is not to circumvent anti-money laundering or anti-terrorism rules and that KYC requirements would need to be performed annually to maintain residency.
Cryptic Labs, which began operations in Palo Alto in 2018, claims that their blockchain-based technology enables safe ID verification and access to Know Your Customer (KYC) capabilities.
“This collaboration with the Republic of Palau will transform economic development in Palau and around the world.” The world is waking up to the practicality, versatility, and genuinely revolutionary power of digital identification, and this is a big step forward.” Cryptic Labs’ CEO, Bril Wang, stated in the announcement.
Palau’s Digital Residency Program is the country’s second big endeavor into blockchain implementation. The island nation announced a collaboration with fintech startup Ripple (XRP) in November 2021 to develop its own Digital Currency Strategy.
