Wyoming Bans CBDCs, Launches $FRNT State Stablecoin on Solana

The receipt: Wyoming plays both sides of the digital dollar.

Wyoming just executed a regulatory pincer movement that challenges Washington’s monopoly on digital money. In the same breath that the state enforced HB0264, a statute explicitly barring state agencies from accepting Federal Reserve-issued CBDCs, it activated the Frontier Stable Token ($FRNT). The state-issued stablecoin is now live on Kraken and Solana, marking the first time a US state has bypassed the Federal Reserve to mint its own on-chain dollars.

The Discrepancy: While Governor Mark Gordon publicly slammed the door on a federal “surveillance coin,” his administration quietly opened a window for state-run digital currency. The Wyoming Stable Token Commission confirmed $FRNT is fully reserved by US Treasuries and repurchase agreements, but the custody isn’t held by a crypto native. In a move to institutionalize the asset, Franklin Templeton was tapped to manage the reserves, with Fiduciary Trust International holding custody.

This reframes the US CBDC conversation, raising uncomfortable questions for Washington about which institutions shape digital dollar rails and which laws set constraints.

The Third Lane: State-Issued, Privately Distributed

This is not a CBDC; it is a Statutory Stablecoin. The model attempts to carve a “third lane” between the surveillance concerns of a Fed-issued token and the counterparty risks of private issuers like Tether. By codifying the token into state law, Wyoming effectively treats $FRNT as a public good routed through private rails.

Market Mechanics:

• Issuer: State of Wyoming (via the Stable Token Commission).
• Distribution: Exclusively via Kraken (Solana) and Rain (Avalanche) at launch.
• Interoperability: Bridged via LayerZero/Stargate to Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, and Ethereum.
• Peg Stability: $FRNT held $1.00 (+0.01%) in early trading on Kraken as liquidity pools deepened.

Institutional Context

The timing is aggressive. By launching $FRNT immediately after the CBDC ban, Wyoming is betting that sovereignty is the killer app. While JPMorgan and other banking giants have downplayed the stablecoin threat, a state-backed competitor protected by the 10th Amendment complicates the federal regulatory picture. If $FRNT gains traction in DeFi, it forces the SEC and Fed to decide if they will sue a state government for issuing a digital dollar instrument, a legal battle significantly messier than suing Terraform Labs.