At its final meeting of the year, the Wyoming Stable Token Commission announced two new hires, showed interest in working with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, fine-tuned requirements and deadlines for blockchain vendors, and reaffirmed their hope to issue a token in 2025.
The commission was tasked by the Legislature to create and issue a digital asset tied to the U.S. dollar and endorsed by the state. The goal is to release the state stable token around May of 2025, which would make Wyoming the first state in the nation to have its own digital dollar.
Backstory
Wyoming has been trying to diversify its assets over the past decade, and one industry of interest has been new and upcoming technology. Wyoming officials have spoken about Web3 and artificial intelligence made a debut political appearance in Cheyenne. However, cryptocurrency and blockchain have been the primary technologies of interest. Over 30 bills have been passed by state lawmakers, trying to make the state market friendly to digital asset creators, crypto-miners and blockchain researchers.
Other states like New York and Florida are friendly to crypto companies,
but Wyoming is unique in its goal to create a state-supported digital asset.
In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill that created the Wyoming Stable Token. Gov. Mark Gordon let the bill pass into law without his signature. He believed there was no clearly defined path to issuance. But now, Gordon is working with commission Director Anthony Apollo and other members on the commission to continue the vendor selection and finalize regulatory frameworks.
The process continues
Apollo began the meeting by clarifying that no tokens had yet been minted or issued. He introduced two new hires: Chief Financial Officer Joseph Saldana and Chief Information Security Officer Keith Lawhorn. Saldana previously worked for Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers, as well as having worked in the digital currency field. Lawhorn has worked with law enforcement, Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to stop illegal financial activity. The commission now has a fully functioning team with all positions filled.
Commissioner Flavia Naves suggested the committee consider a nomination for joining the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group. The group offers advice to the U.S. Treasury Department about reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and informs private sector representatives on how the information they provide is used.
Naves argued the move would create a working relationship between the state and the federal government to ensure that the token is not used for illegal or terroristic means. Naves and Apollo also said Wyoming having a chair at the table would “bring a unique perspective” and benefit the state.
“I think we’ve certainly been putting the work in across these dimensions, and I think it would be great for us to get a formal role,” said Apollo. “Not only in an organization like this but any kind of federal apparatus that's looking to learn from those who're doing. I think we have the opportunity to steer the ship here, maybe punch outside our weight class.”
At this point in time, the Wyoming Stable Token Commission has released the capabilities and expectations they're looking for from vendors and aims to award contracts on Feb. 28. The commission is still reviewing Requests for Qualifications and Requests for Proposals from a number of companies for more specific areas of technical expertise, such as who might be best to build the digital wallet needed to hold tokens. For the creation of a blockchain system itself, the commission has laid out Solana, Sui, Ethereum, Avalanche and Stellar as the current candidate blockchain companies under consideration.
State Auditor Kristi Racines expressed some concern regarding the proposed timeline.
“I'm not so much concerned about vendors getting stuff to us, but reviewing all of these and [awarding] them in February is very tight,” Racines said. “So I will say out loud that I think that is an expedited timeline, perhaps beyond reality, but we'll see. But that being said, I'd go ahead and support getting these out.”
The commission says it’s aiming for a release date this coming May.
