Four members of the state legislature in Wyoming have sponsored a bill that would allow state treasurers to issue stack coins.
On Thursday, Wyoming Senators Chris Rothfuss and Tara Nethercote, along with Representatives Jared Olsen and Mike Yen, submitted SF0106, entitled “Wyoming Fixed Code Act,” to the Senate. If the bill is signed into law, the bill will authorize the treasurer to issue a redeemable USD-denominated stack coin against fiat on a public account.
The Treasurer – Curtis Meyer at the time of publication – will consult with the department’s investment fund committee and will have the power to appoint “accountants, auditors, consultants and other experts” to issue coins, and set limits and rules. Government officials will be required to release the stack coin by December 31, with the option to report by November 1 if the proposal is determined to be “inconsistent with federal or state law.”
Caitlin Long, CEO of Wyoming-based Avanti Financial, welcomed the legislation and said there are pros and cons to the bill, but it was “definitely a conversation starter” for lawmakers looking at stack coins. Stablecoins have long been described as “very important bridges between cryptocurrencies and the US dollar” in need of regulatory clarity.
“This is amazing,” Long said, referring to the proposed stack coin. “Looks like an interest-free cash bond that has no maturity, but can be redeemed – except that it is not exactly BC as a symbol, there will be significant legal and structural / calculation differences.”
Rothfuss heads the Wyoming State Select Committee for Blockchain, Fintech and Digital Innovation, a group established in May 2020 to study developments in cryptography and blockchain that can promote related legislation. Since taking office, Nethercott, Olsen, Rothfuss and other Wyoming lawmakers have sponsored a bill proposing to exempt state property taxes from cryptocurrencies, as well as two other bills on tokenization and compliance issues.
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Wyoming has often been at the forefront of a state-centric approach to regulating cryptocurrencies, with several laws seemingly favorable to space and Bitcoin (BTC) by US Senator Cynthia Loomis. Kraken became the first cryptocurrency company to receive a charter from the Bank of Wyoming in September 2020, after which the State Banking Board approved the charter for Avanti.
On February 17, the Wyoming Stable Token Act was submitted to the Joint Commission for Mineral Resources, Trade and Economic Development.
Cointelegraph contacted Wyoming Senator Chris Rothfuss, but received no response at the time of the press.
