Hoskinson Criticizes Wyoming’s Transparent Selection Process for Upcoming Stablecoin

During a recent livestream chat titled “XRP and Wyoming” on November 25, 2024, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, raised some serious concerns about the Wyoming Stable Token Commission’s approach in selecting the technology for its upcoming stablecoin, known as the Wyoming Stable Token (WST). He expressed his discontent over what he sees as a lack of transparency in the process, hinting at potential conflicts of interest that could arise from the commission’s decisions. The Wyoming Stable Token Commission is in the midst of a procurement process that aims to launch the WST in 2025. This stablecoin is intended to be the first fiat-backed, fully reserved stable token issued by a public entity within the United States. To support the development, launch, and management of the WST and its reserve assets, the commission plans to engage various qualified vendors. As it stands, the initial blockchain platforms under consideration for this stablecoin include major players like Solana, Avalanche, Stellar, and Ethereum, along with Layer 2 networks such as Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism. However, Hoskinson couldn’t help but notice the absence of significant options like the XRP Ledger and Cardano in this selection. He questioned the rationale behind choosing Stellar over Ripple, especially considering Ripple’s recent launch of the RLUSD stablecoin and its substantial market presence. For Hoskinson, the commission’s choices raised serious flags. He highlighted that Cardano, with its market value at around $34 billion, along with other notable networks like Algorand, Tezos, and Aptos, were never given an opportunity to showcase their technologies through a proof of concept. He underscored the glaring exclusion of these capable ecosystems, suggesting that many promising candidates were overlooked. Furthermore, Hoskinson speculated that the selection process may have been unduly shaped by existing relationships within the commission itself. He pointed out that Anthony Welfare, the Executive Director of the commission, has connections to ConsenSys and the Polygon network. Additionally, he noted the past association of another commission member with Circle, a well-known player in the stablecoin realm, suggesting a possible bias favoring networks tied to those entities. Hoskinson asserted that utilizing public funds to create an unbalanced competitive environment for select companies is an unacceptable practice. He criticized the commission’s typical procurement protocol, which usually involves announcing requirements transparently and allowing submissions from interested parties. In his view, the lack of clarity in this current process has deprived excluded networks of the chance to demonstrate their unique offerings. He also pointed out a significant oversight in the commission’s criteria: the exclusion of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. This was particularly concerning for him, given Cardano’s collaboration with Bitcoin OS (BOS), which could potentially facilitate Bitcoin’s first stablecoin via the WST. The criteria set by the commission ultimately led to Bitcoin’s rejection. In a call to action for the XRP community, Hoskinson urged everyone to advocate for more equitable decision-making processes. He expressed a desire for transformative changes, indicating that relationships between the cryptocurrency sector and government authorities are bound to shift in 2025. He made it clear that the current selection process is counterproductive to fostering a collaborative environment with regulators. As of the latest data, ADA is trading at approximately $0.9785, reflecting ongoing dynamics in the crypto market.

Source: Bitcoinist.com