Wyoming’s State Stablecoin Becomes Ground Zero for Crypto Debate

Wyoming has become the first state in the U.S. to launch its own stablecoin.

And with that launch, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (June 16), comes a debate about what the Frontier Stable Token means for the cryptocurrency industry.

Governor Mark Gordon told Bloomberg he’s been a “cautious adopter” of the coin, focused more on making sure they are reliable before worrying about sales.

“We’re not trying to be the fastest horse in the barn,” Gordon said. “We’re trying to actually be the one that you can take out and make sure it works.”

The report adds that Wyoming — the smallest state in terms of population — has become the latest theater in the conflict between traditional banks and the crypto sector amid wider adoption of stablecoins in the mainstream financial world.

Scott Meier, president of the Wyoming Bankers Association, told Bloomberg he thinks the Frontier tokens are a passing fad, arguing that the state’s conservative residents will not leave the traditional financial system.

“I would be surprised if you even got more than 1% of our small population that are actually wanting to do a lot of stuff with stablecoins,” Meier said.

The cryptocurrency industry, Bloomberg wrote, is more hopeful. Crypto exchange Kraken moved its headquarters to Cheyenne last year, citing dozens of new state laws designed to turn Wyoming into a digital asset hub. Kraken has also begun listing Frontier tokens for sale in the state.

Unlike private stablecoins, Wyoming’s tokens are designed for the benefit of the public, with the goal of someday using interest on the Treasury bills backing the coins for education funding.

“I would love to see large corporations use us as their international settlement vehicle,” said David Pope, who serves on the Wyoming Stable Token Commission. “When we are able to start funding the school foundation, I will be joyful.”

PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster spoke last year with Joel Revill, CEO of Two Ocean Trust and a commissioner on the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, who predicted that the coin would operate on a “more transparent, lower cost, secure payment rail vs. the … archaic payment rails that Wyoming citizens, and everyone else, are subject to.”

And as stablecoins become more mainstream, Revill said, “Wyoming doesn’t want to just sort of ‘go along and make sure we’re keeping up.’ We want to lead in this area, pass laws, and set up our regulators to provide clarity that doesn’t exist yet at the federal level or in other states.”