2025-03-27
On March 26, 2025 — Republican Governor
of Wyoming, Mark Gordon announced that the State of Wyoming has officially
begun testing its state-issued stablecoin, the Wyoming Stable Token (WYST),
marking a major milestone in digital asset policy and public finance
innovation.
Deployed across seven blockchain
testnets, WYST could become the first fiat-backed and fully reserved stablecoin
issued by a U.S. public entity.
The announcement came during a fireside
chat at the DC Blockchain Summit, where Governor Mark Gordon and Wyoming Stable
Token Commission Executive Director Anthony Apollo outlined the state's digital
asset vision.
“Our forward-thinking approach to
blockchain and digital asset legislation has positioned Wyoming as a model for
not only other states, but the federal government as well,” said Governor
Gordon.
Testing Across Multiple Chains
Initial test deployments of WYST are
now live on Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Base—using
valueless tokens for system checks.
The smart contract addresses have been
made public to encourage transparency and third-party integration.
The state selected LayerZero Labs as
its technology partner through a competitive RFP process.
LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT)
Standard allows for native issuance and cross-chain movement of WYST. A live
demo has already shown WYST transferring between Ethereum and Avalanche
testnets using Stargate, a LayerZero-powered bridge.
“There’s no clearer signal of where
finance is heading than a U.S. state putting the dollar onchain,” said Simon
Baksys, VP of Business Development at LayerZero.
Built for Security and Utility
Under Wyoming law, WYST must be
over-collateralized using cash and U.S. Treasuries, with interest earnings
deposited into the Wyoming School Foundation Fund.
The Commission emphasized that WYST’s
reserve structure will be independently auditable and transparent to the
public.
Apollo said that WYST will allow
near-instant global transfers of U.S. dollar value with lower fees than
traditional rails like ACH or wire transfers, positioning the token as a digital
public good.
The Commission is now building out the
full compliance and operational framework, including a reserves management
system, internal controls, and governance protocols.
Timeline and Public Participation
Testing will continue through Q2 2025,
with a public launch targeted for July. Wyoming residents and entities can
register to become alpha testers through the Commission’s website at stabletoken.wyo.gov.
This implementation comes as Congress
continues debating federal stablecoin regulation.
A recent update to the STABLE Act
introduced clearer guidelines for digital dollar issuance—further highlighting
Wyoming’s early-mover status in the space.
