The Bank of North Dakota (BND), leveraging its unique status as the nation's only state-owned bank, has partnered with financial-services giant Fiserv to develop the "Roughrider Coin," a dollar-pegged stablecoin slated for launch in 2026. The initiative aims to modernize the state's financial infrastructure and assert sovereignty in the digital-asset space.
Built on Fiserv's proprietary digital-asset platform, the stablecoin is designed specifically for use by North Dakota's local banks and credit unions. Key objectives include increasing efficiency in bank-to-bank transactions, simplifying cross-border money movement, and driving adoption among local merchants to foster an integrated digital economy. Governor Kelly Armstrong highlighted the state's cutting-edge approach, stating, "As one of the first states to issue our own stablecoin backed by real money, North Dakota is taking a cutting-edge approach to creating a secure and efficient financial ecosystem for our citizens."
Fiserv, which processes approximately 90 billion transactions annually across 10,000 financial institutions and 6 million merchant locations globally, brings technical credibility and scale. The Roughrider coin will be the first state-issued stablecoin in the U.S. to launch on Fiserv's platform, following the company's own FIUSD stablecoin. This move aligns with a growing trend of state experimentation, such as Wyoming's state-backed token launched in August under new federal legislation clarifying dollar-pegged digital assets.
Don Morgan, CEO of BND, emphasized that the project capitalizes on recent federal law changes to ensure the resilience and relevancy of the state's financial industry. While no immediate impact is expected on major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, the initiative signals a broader push toward blockchain integration in public finance.