Wyoming to debut state-backed WYST stablecoin in August

Wyoming’s Stable Token Commission has selected August 20 as the launch date for its state-issued stablecoin, WYST.

According to media reports, the decision was announced following its latest monthly meeting, with officials confirming that the launch will take place at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson.

Executive Director Anthony Apollo described WYST as a “public good” and reiterated that all interest earned from the token’s reserves would be transferred quarterly to the state’s School Foundation Fund.

WYST will be fully backed by a mix of U.S. dollars, Treasury securities, and repurchase agreements.

The Commission has previously confirmed that WYST will be overcollateralized to maintain a stable 1:1 peg with the dollar.

A multi-year journey

First floated in 2022 by Wyoming lawmakers, the concept of a state-issued digital token has since transformed into a legislated and technically mature initiative.

The idea was formalised in March 2023 with the passage of the Wyoming Stable Token Act, which established the legal framework and created the Wyoming Stable Token Commission to oversee the project.

Initial test deployments of WYST began in early 2024 across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and scaling solutions such as Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

However, those test tokens held no monetary value and were used solely to validate the functionality and performance of the underlying infrastructure.

WYST technical foundation

Over the past months, the state has tapped a number of prominent blockchain firms to aid in its efforts.

Back in May, the Commission partnered with Inca Digital Federal LLC to enhance risk monitoring and ensure compliance with federal and state standards

Under this agreement, Inca provides real-time analytics, threat detection tools, and market intelligence to help safeguard the token’s operations from fraud and other illicit activity

A month later, the Commission identified Solana and Aptos as the two leading blockchain platforms for hosting WYST after narrowing down an initial list of 11 candidates.

Both networks met the state’s requirements around high throughput, low fees, and strong vendor support after the test phase

Solana was selected for its high-throughput, production-proven architecture capable of sub-second finality.

Aptos was chosen for its modular upgrade capabilities and its use of the Move language, which enhances security through resource-oriented programming.

LayerZero, the cross-chain messaging protocol, will also play a key role in facilitating WYST’s interoperability across supported blockchains

The platform allows tokens to move securely between networks without the need for traditional centralized bridges, reducing exposure to common vulnerabilities and improving user experience.

In his latest comments, Apollo said WYST may be deployed across multiple blockchain networks via LayerZero.

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