Public Blockchain Selection: Insights from the Stablecoin Project in Wyoming, USA

Recently, a piece of news about the state of Wyoming in the United States choosing a public blockchain for its upcoming stablecoin WYST has attracted widespread attention. The state adopted a public scoring method, and ultimately 11 blockchains made it to the candidate list. Surprisingly, Aptos and Solana tied for first place with 32 points, followed closely by Sei with 30 points, while Ethereum and many Layer 2 solutions only received 26 points or lower. This result shows a significant discrepancy with the commonly perceived activity level of public blockchain ecosystems and market capitalization rankings.

The Wyoming Stablecoin Committee was established in March 2023 under the state's Stable Token Act. The committee operates with a high level of transparency, detailing project profiles, meeting agendas, scoring criteria, and other information in public Notion documents, and provides multiple social media accounts for the public to follow.

The selection process is divided into multiple stages. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the committee initially selected 28 public chains, filtering out 14 public chains based on four basic criteria: ( permissionless access, supply transparency, on-chain analytical capabilities, and freezing functionality ). Subsequently, the remaining public chains were scored on 9 indicators, each worth 3 points, covering aspects such as network stability, user activity, total locked value ( TVL ), stablecoin market capitalization, trading performance, and more. In addition, there were 5 bonus items ( worth 2 points each ) and 6 penalty items ( worth -2 points each ).

Finally, 5 Layer 1 main chains and 4 Layer 2 solutions made it to the "candidate blockchain" list. Notably, Aptos and SEI were newly included in the selection in the first quarter of 2025. This selection updated some criteria, including the addition of requirements such as "vendor support" and "on-chain analysis platform support," as well as two new bonus items, "emerging market trends" and "foundation support."

By comparing core indicators, it can be observed that each public chain has its strengths and weaknesses in different aspects. Ethereum leads significantly in TVL, but performs poorly in transaction performance and cost. Aptos and Solana have a clear advantage in the number of active users. The reason Aptos can share the highest score with Solana is partly due to its balanced performance across various indicators and partly thanks to the addition of two new bonus items.

The results of this selection have sounded the alarm for Ethereum supporters. In actual technology selection, the government focuses more on practical indicators such as performance, cost, and scalability, rather than the degree of decentralization. At the same time, compliance and localization are also important considerations.

In addition to the selection of public chains, the stablecoin project in Wyoming itself is also worth paying attention to. As the first state in the U.S. to plan to issue a stablecoin, WYST was originally scheduled to launch before July 4, 2024, but has now been postponed to the third quarter of 2025. The project still needs to complete a series of tasks such as establishing reserve management rules, setting up accounts, and selecting service providers.

Ultimately, the reserves of WYST will be managed by Franklin Templeton, with Chainalysis responsible for on-chain analysis, and LayerZero and Fireblocks assisting with integration. The contract is scheduled to be deployed to the mainnet by August 20, 2025, and will be officially announced at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.

Other states in the U.S. are also actively exploring the stablecoin sector. Nebraska has authorized Telcoin to issue the state-backed stablecoin eUSD. Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands is also promoting the issuance of a dollar stablecoin called MUSD.

This phenomenon of states and large companies competing to issue stablecoins recalls the free banking era in the United States during the 19th century. At that time, various institutions and individuals issued around 8,000 different currencies, leading to market chaos. Today, with the development of digital currency technology, a similar situation may arise again.

The Renminbi stablecoin has also become a hot topic of discussion recently. Whether it is large enterprises or government departments, they are all considering suitable issuance methods and underlying technologies. Whether a dedicated blockchain is needed, whether to adopt a consortium blockchain, whether to connect to mainstream international public chains, or to choose domestic public chain solutions, these issues pose new challenges not only for China but also for governments and enterprises around the world.

Although Wyoming's rating and disclosure system may not be perfect, it provides a reference template for later practitioners. In the future, we hope to see more innovative governance practices emerge in this field.