Wyoming is seeking an executive director who will oversee the state’s stablecoin project—and earn a bigger wage than Governor Mark Gordon.
(Bloomberg) — Wyoming is seeking an executive director who will oversee the state’s stablecoin project—and earn a bigger wage than Governor Mark Gordon.
The appointee must devise and implement a business plan for the token on a $150,000 annual salary, according to a job posting dated July 20. That’s more than the $140,000 paycheck attached to the governor’s role.
The state is looking for a candidate who will bring “connections and expertise in the blockchain industry” and “familiarity with Wyoming’s legislative processes and key stakeholders,” according to the posting.
Wyoming’s Republican-controlled legislature passed an act earlier this year that created the Wyoming Stable Token Commission. That group is currently made up of the governor, treasurer and auditor, as well as four subject matter experts including the former general counsel of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd., Flavia Naves.
“Given the enacting legislation has a timeline of issuing a token by the end of the year, I believe they are hoping to work expeditiously,” Michael Pearlman, Governor Gordon’s communications director, said via email. That timing would put Wyoming on a path to become the first US state to issue its own stablecoin.
The project is being met with some skepticism from state leadership. Gordon vetoed an earlier attempt to pass the bill, citing concerns about due diligence and planning. While he let a later bill pass into law without his explicit signature, he expressed misgivings about the lack of a concrete business plan and potential constitutional concerns.
“I must acknowledge the irony of implementing a government issued stablecoin to further an expressed goal of fostering monetary transactions free from governmental regulation,” Gordon said in a letter attached to the revised bill.
“Recent history should be a guide for what can befall a poorly thought through build-it-and-they-will-come scheme,” he added.
Stablecoins are a key part of the crypto sector, and are intended to hold a steady value and are most commonly backed by highly liquid assets like US dollars and Treasury bills. In Wyoming’s case, the legislation outlines that each of its “stable tokens” would be backed by one US dollar held in trust by the state.
Read: Shrinking Stablecoin Market Is Sending Mixed Signals on Crypto
Wyoming’s Crypto-Friendliness
The Stable Token Act is only one of a bevy of crypto-friendly policies in Wyoming, including a law that prevents forced disclosure of the alphanumeric codes that act like passwords to access virtual assets. Wyoming is one of two US states to have special charters for banks seeking to operate as crypto custodians.
“It is clear that digital assets will be an important feature of a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem and that Wyoming’s Legislature has made significant contributions to advancing the digital landscape,” Gordon’s letter said. “Still, first movers are not always rewarded. They are, however, vital to progress.”
Wyoming legislators have also made crypto-related waves on the national stage. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis is one of the few major US politicians to have disclosed ownership of cryptoassets. According to her financial disclosures for 2020 and 2021, Lummis owned between $100,000 and $250,000 of Bitcoin. Her most recent disclosure statement, filed in May 2023 for calendar year 2022, did not include any mention of the token.
Lummis and New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand co-sponsored a bi-partisan proposal to regulate the digital-asset industry. “If the Lummis-Gillibrand bill passes, we think use of stablecoins will increase in the next few years,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Nathan R. Dean wrote in a recent report.
Read: FTX Fiasco Fails to Mute Congress’s Biggest Crypto Enthusiasts
–With assistance from Beth Williams.
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