Stablecoins Get a Boost As a New Fiserv Platform Goes Live – Digital Transactions

Fiserv Inc.’s digital-asset platform went live on Thursday with Roughrider Coin, a stablecoin from Bank of North Dakota intended to ease money movement among banks in that state.

The development comes after Fiserv announced in June last year it would build the platform to address growing interest among financial institutions in supporting digital assets, particularly stablecoins, for such purposes and products as cross-border payments, card issuance, and tokenized deposits. News that Fiserv would work with Bank of North Dakota on the coin emerged last fall.

Roughrider Coin, backed by the U.S. dollar, will be used primarily to boost efficiency in moving money among banks in North Dakota, according to Fiserv’s announcement. London, Ontario-based VersaBank is serving as the coin’s issuer, with technology for the venture coming from Fireblocks, a provider of digital-wallet security, tokenization, and related services.

Fiserv says the development will help meet growing interest in digital assets among financial institutions. Stablecoins, in particular, are seen as a prominent use case as they generally hold their value when traded, unlike tokens like Bitcoin that are subject to sometimes radical swings in value.

“The primary benefit [of Roughrider Coin] is an always-on settlement option that complements existing rails like Fedwire and FedNow,” says Aaron McPherson, proprietor of the payments consultancy AFM Consulting, in an email message. “While it won’t replace them and cost savings remain unproven until pilot data [are] available, the broader story is scalability. Given that Fiserv serves roughly 10,000 institutions, a successful pilot in North Dakota could easily be replicated nationwide.”

In the immediate case, this latest development is expected to bring efficiencies to the more than 90 North Dakota banks and credit unions participating in the rollout. The new coin provides “a new tool to move money more efficiently across North Dakota’s interbank network,” says Don Morgan, Bank of North Dakota’s chief executive, in a statement.

Interest in digital currencies, and particularly stablecoins, has grown among established financial institutions since the passage by Congress last year of the GENIUS Act, which brought rules for reserve requirements, authorized issuers, and oversight and compliance. The law also classifies stablecoins as payment instruments, not securities or commodities.