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The state of Wyoming is planning to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin in the first quarter of 2025, to be called the Wyoming State Token (WST), which it’s hoped will provide individuals and businesses with a quicker and more cost-effective way of transacting as well as a new source of revenue for the state.
Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on August 21, Governor Mark Gordon told CNBC that the state was working on backing the stablecoin tokens through U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements. It will then reach out to exchange partners for listing sometime in Q1 2025.
Once the framework is established, Wyoming consumers can use WST to pay for everyday purchases throughout the United States.
According to Gordon, who is also Chairman of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, success would be the “adoption of a stablecoin… that’s transparent, that is fully backed by our short-term Treasurys [and] that’s dollar dependent.”
He added: “It is clear to me that digital assets are going to have a future. The United States has to address this issue. Washington’s being a little bit stodgy, which is why Wyoming, being a nimble and entrepreneurial state, can make a difference.”
The initial budget of the WST Commission is $5.8 million, and it plans to invest the interest on the stablecoins’ reserves in public goods, such as state public schools.
Flavia Naves, a commissioner at the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, also speaking at last week’s symposium, suggested that the stablecoin is just the first step in the state’s broader plan.
“Down the road, the intent is to utilize the same technology … to enable other elements to turn into tokens and be on blockchains, whether it is commodities such as gold or oil, whether it is real estate, other governmental obligations – those are still to be determined,” said Naves. “But the success of this initial use case, which is digitization of the U.S. dollar, is the one that is going to enable other use cases to proceed.”
Although Wyoming plans to use several different public blockchains, when describing her vision for the stablecoin, Naves hinted that Solana might be the one used for the initial stablecoin issuance:
“When you walk into Cowboy Coffee in Jackson, Wyoming, and you want to buy your latte, there’s going to be their wallet there in Solana that you can use to buy your coffee with the Wyoming token.”
Wyoming is currently vetting potential partners and vendors to help build the stablecoin, including exchange and wallet providers.
Laying the groundwork for WST
In March, the state passed the Wyoming Stable Token Act, which Governor Gordon signed into law in the same month.
The bill laid the groundwork for the WST stablecoin, stipulating that the Treasury bonds—long-term loans made to the U.S. government—can’t be more than 365 days in maturity and mandating a maximum of 30 days for reverse repo arrangements, in which a buyer purchases securities from a counterparty with the agreement to sell them back at a higher price at a later date.
The legislation also required the creation of a stable token trust account, but clarified that “by creation of this trust, the state does not create any fiduciary duty to token holders.”
Meaning the ‘Trust’ would not owe any legal duty of care to stablecoin holders should anything go wrong.
Watch: Stablecoins with Daniel Lipshitz
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