After introducing it as a product for business transactions last August, Wyoming is making its stablecoin available to the general public this week. The next question for the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) is whether a broader market will emerge for the asset.
The token is available for purchase via Kraken on the Solana blockchain and through Rain, the Visa-powered integrated card platform, on the Avalanche blockchain. Its holdings will be invested exclusively in U.S. dollars and short-duration U.S. Treasuries.
Wyoming has emerged as a leading state in crypto adoption, having passed roughly 30 laws to encourage innovation in digital assets. Kraken moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyoming, last June—a move that likely played a role in securing the rights to trade FRNT.
Looking for Private Use Cases
Wyoming has pushed the notion that FRNT is intended for retail use. The coin settles in seconds, carries fees of less than one cent per transaction, and is available to anyone with an internet connection. The state has even suggested that consumers use the stablecoin to make government payments.
“Last year my office took in about $3.4 million in credit card transactions, which cost our constituents about $70,000 in fees that our processors collected,” Converse County Treasurer Joel Schell noted in a prepared statement. “We’re anxious to get out of that climate and to move into something else. Electronic payments, especially the stable token, would let us get more efficient.”
There’s still more the state could do to promote adoption.
“Until Wyoming either integrates the FRNT stablecoin directly into state and county online portals with a one-click pay user experience, offer clear incentives like waiving surcharges or adding discounts, or just make it feel as easy as a card checkout, it won’t hit that adoption curve,” said Joel Hugentobler, Cryptocurrency Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research.
Yield on Tap?
To further encourage private use, some state officials are considering the possibility of offering yield to investors holding FRNT. Wyoming State Senator Chris Rothfuss has made the case that the state should be able to do this because it is not a private business, unlike other stablecoin issuers.
For now, interest generated from the reserves will help fund Wyoming schools. But Anthony Apollo, the Executive Director of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, has spoken out in favor of distributing a portion of the token’s Treasury interest directly to individual holders.
