Driving statewide public sector innovation through tokenization and digital payments

Problem

As an “oil and gas” state without income tax, Wyoming’s annual revenues are driven by plentiful natural resources. However, this leads to a high concentration of risk on the state’s finances, and Wyoming must continuously explore how to diversify its income streams to mitigate such risk while keeping taxpayer burden low. Further, state agencies leverage payment platforms – for example, those used for permitting on a county-by-county basis – that assess processing fees on Wyoming’s constituents, and result in lengthy settlement times for businesses.

Solution

The Wyoming State Legislature passed the Wyoming Stable Token Act in March 2023 to create the Wyoming Stable Token Commission. The Commission launched FRNT as a fully reserved, state-issued digital asset backed 1:1 by cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries. Distributed through Licensed Service Providers and deployed across multiple networks, including Hedera, FRNT enables near-instant settlements, and low-cost payments with predictable fees. Interest earned on reserves flows back to Wyoming’s school foundation program, helping diversify revenues and fund public priorities.

Our mandate is to hold every network partner we work with to the same rigorous standards. Hedera stood out because of its governance, security model, and real-world adoption. For a public entity issuing a fully reserved digital asset, that level of stability and performance is critical.

Stephanie Chan

Senior Business Project Management Analyst

Pioneering a public digital dollar in the equality state

FRNT represents a landmark in U.S. public finance, making Wyoming the first government entity in the nation to issue a blockchain-based stable token. Built on a legislatively-mandated 2% overcollateralization buffer, with reserves held in a dedicated trust and subject to monthly independent attestations, FRNT goes beyond a simple digital payment tool to establish a new standard of accountability for state-managed digital assets.

Beyond education funding, FRNT can facilitate state contract payments, unclaimed property disbursements, and rapid emergency aid. The Commission is in active conversations with other U.S. states that have expressed interest in adopting Wyoming’s legal and technical framework for stable token issuance.

By expanding FRNT to Hedera, the Commission adds enterprise-grade security, high throughput, real-time finality, and predictable transaction costs. Hedera’s stable, energy-efficient network and strong governance model support scalable public-sector payments, interoperability, and long-term resilience as adoption grows.

The future of FRNT on Hedera

The Commission plans to expand FRNT’s footprint on Hedera as adoption grows, advancing real-time attestations, new public-sector integrations, and potential yield-bearing models. By leveraging Hedera’s secure, scalable infrastructure, Wyoming expects to deliver faster government payments, lower costs for businesses, greater transparency for the public, and long-term economic resilience.

Why Hedera?

Through its rigorous, quarterly blockchain selection process, the Commission evaluates networks against objective criteria for performance, security, governance, and real-world adoption. Hedera stood out for its enterprise-grade security model, strong governing council, predictable low fees, real-time finality, and proven use cases with  leading institutions across many industries. These strengths align with Wyoming’s mandate for neutrality, resilience, and scalable public infrastructure.

As FRNT adoption accelerates, the Commission expects to deepen its integration on Hedera by expanding network deployment, strengthening interoperability, and building new public and commercial use cases on the network. By aligning state-backed digital assets with Hedera’s secure, scalable infrastructure, Wyoming is positioning FRNT to become a strong foundation for next-generation public finance.