Cardano Excluded from Wyoming’s Stablecoin Project
The state of Wyoming is making waves in the world of cryptocurrency by launching its own dollar-backed stablecoin called the Wyoming State Token (WST). This move comes as no surprise, considering Wyoming’s reputation as one of the most crypto-friendly states even before Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of crypto.
However, controversy arose when Cardano, a prominent blockchain, was excluded from supporting the WST project. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano’s parent company Input Output Global (IOG), claimed that Cardano was unfairly left out of the final phase of the project. Despite being involved in the early stages and playing a key advisory role, Cardano’s exclusion came as a surprise.
Hoskinson highlighted concerns about the tender process, where the project’s trajectory changed after an executive director was hired. The director allegedly pushed for an Ethereum-based token, deviating from the project’s original multi-chain vision. Hoskinson criticized the abrupt shift in the evaluation process, stating that Cardano never had the opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities as it was excluded from submitting a prototype.
According to Hoskinson, the tender process was flawed and lacked transparency, leading to subjective judgments that favored other blockchains over Cardano. The shortlisted blockchains reportedly included Solana, Avalanche, Sui, Stellar, Ethereum, and other EVM-compatible chains, but details about the final selection remain unclear.
Despite being frozen out of the Wyoming stablecoin bid, Hoskinson hinted at potential actions that IOG might take, emphasizing the need for a fair and objective evaluation process. The controversy surrounding the WST project sheds light on the challenges of government contracts and the importance of transparency in the blockchain industry.
In conclusion, the exclusion of Cardano from Wyoming’s stablecoin project raises questions about fairness and accountability in the evaluation process. As Wyoming continues to spearhead cryptocurrency initiatives, the need for transparent and unbiased decision-making becomes increasingly crucial in determining the success of such projects.
