The following letter was submitted by Anthony Torres for publication in our Opinion section. The views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author:
Dear Senator Babauta,
I normally do not respond to ignorant or misleading public comments, but this one requires a direct and forceful correction.
The $MARI token has zero relationship with Marianas Rai Corporation (MRC) or the Tinian MUSD stablecoin project. The promoters of $MARI themselves made this crystal clear in their own public statement.
Link: Marianas Variety Article
Did you not read their article?
Conflating these two completely separate initiatives is not a minor oversight, it is an egregious failure by a sitting Senator. It misleads the public and damages legitimate local efforts at a critical time. Correct the record immediately and publicly.
For absolute clarity:
• MUSD is a legitimate, fiat-backed stablecoin governed by CNMI local law and fully aligned with federal regulations, including the upcoming CLARITY Act. It is built for real utility, transparency, and local economic benefit.
• The $MARI token and its Marianas Foundation, by contrast, raise serious red flags. They do not appear to be legitimate projects and should undergo deep regulatory inspection and likely be shut down, if they fail basic standards. There is currently a bill in the Legislature that would give the Commonwealth the legal tools to stop exactly these kinds of risky schemes. Senator Babauta, are you supporting that legislation?
Marianas Rai Corporation is a genuine local company operating in the CNMI since 2023. Our four principals live here, pay taxes here, and are actively contributing to the community, especially during this urgent post-typhoon recovery. We provide real technology services and blockchain consulting to local businesses and organizations.
We believe in building a vibrant, diversified CNMI economy through for-profit innovation that reaches global customers and strengthens our local tax base.
As one of the principals and a native Chamorro who grew up on these islands, I spent over 30 years away before uprooting my family and returning home in late 2022 with my wife and son. God placed three clear priorities on my heart: caring for my aging parents, serving our people, and making a lasting difference. That calling drove me to bring serious blockchain technology to the Commonwealth through Marianas Rai Corporation. We’ve spent massive amounts of personal capital investing in our local company as opposed to raising opaque and unregulated “liquidity pools.”
We are building practical tools to transform the CNMI into a true innovation, financial, and tech hub of the Pacific. Through our partnership with the Municipality of Tinian, we created the Marianas U.S. Dollar (MUSD), a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. It enables fast, cheap financial transactions, brings access to anyone with a smartphone, provides full blockchain transparency, and opens doors for compliant digital payments, highly-regulated internet gaming (that reaches the world and excludes local activity), and new innovation investment all while creating local jobs and attracting private capital.
Together, we must establish smart, fair rules for digital assets. Rules that protect our people, while unleashing responsible innovation to grow our tax base and create opportunity for every family.
After Super Typhoon Sinlaku, we no longer have the luxury of time. The destruction has exposed our vulnerability. Families are deciding daily whether to rebuild or leave forever – not for lack of opportunity, but because survival feels uncertain. Every delay in real economic growth, every blocked initiative, and every instance of misinformation accelerates that exodus. We cannot afford to lose another generation to survival-driven migration. The window is closing.
If you or any member of the community has legitimate questions about MUSD or Marianas Rai Corp., contact me directly and we will address them. Please stop spreading misinformation that confuses the public and impedes our economic recovery.
We are here to build and innovate. The CNMI deserves leaders who do the same.
Respectfully but firmly,
Anthony C. Torres
Chairman, Marianas Rai Corporation
Chairman, Commonwealth Economic Incentive Authority
Commissioner, NMIDOC
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