🐎 FRNT deployed

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Whether everyday US consumers really want stablecoins is up for debate.

Stablecoins are the crypto industry’s current obsession nonetheless. 

I think it’s really still too early to tell, but if I had to guess, this feels like early steps toward updating the traditional financial system with crypto rails. We’ll probably keep seeing more of it, not less.

It’s a new era.

— Kate Irwin

FRNT is coming to Kraken

Wyoming’s Stable Token Commission is launching its yield-bearing state stablecoin, FRNT, across seven blockchains using LayerZero’s tech.

The “Frontier” stablecoin, which is backed by US dollars and short-term US Treasurys and won’t have a fixed supply, is being deployed on Ethereum, Solana, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Avalanche. 

It’s a first for any US state — and a sign that you can just do things. 

It has taken a few years, though: The Wyoming Stable Token Act passed in March 2023, which established the Commission and set all this in motion.

“When I heard that a state was doing this, I was like, okay, like, that’s kind of crazy. Clearly very forward-thinking and innovative,” LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino told me in an interview.

“Wyoming has done this with their banking regulation around crypto, with all of the DAO structure. They've been really, really progressive on that side,” he added. “They had the vision of like, hey, we have a competitive advantage here that no central issuer has, right?” 

Some of the profits from FRNT interest will be paid to the Wyoming School Foundation to fund state-level education (the Stable Token Act states that after operational costs are deducted, some profits will be kept as savings for future expenses). 

The Commission says the stablecoin facilitates “secure, transparent, and efficient digital transactions” and is intended for people and businesses around the world. Like all crypto transactions, FRNT transactions in theory let users avoid middlemen payment providers, but users will still have to pay a nominal fee every time.

Besides funding education, the move puts Wyoming on the global stage yet again as a key crypto player — and destination.

Pellegrino predicts FRNT will see adoption from emerging markets looking to gain access to the US Dollar and economy.

“Getting exposure to it will become easier and easier as it’s adopted in more places,” he said.

Wyoming Stable Token Commission Executive Director Anthony Apollo explained in a statement that using LayerZero’s tech allows them to adhere to state guidance to take a “multi-chain, technology-neutral” approach. 

The stablecoin on Solana will be available on Kraken “in the coming days,” according to a release from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

FRNT will also be available to spend via a Visa card from payments firm Rain.

The governor’s office and the Stable Token Commission are expected to make another announcement when FRNT becomes more publicly available.

Based on a timeline from the Stable Token Commission, that may be as soon as next month.

“Everything’s just like a really great bellwether for the industry as a whole,” Pellegrino said. “Just shows the US leaning in in a way that they were not a couple of years ago.”

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It’s the summer of DATs and the party is going strong. 

But when October rolls around, everyone will be looking to DAS: London to hear from these meta-defining voices on where things stand and where they’re headed.

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📅 October 13-15 | London