Wyoming Stable Token Commission values work by current and former UW students

He said company members didn’t intend to become researchers for the commission when the commission began its work in May 2023.

“We just got together and started writing a document on use cases that people probably didn't think about when it comes to a state-backed stable token,” Marchand said.

They sent the document to Lupien for his feedback. Lupien had been serving as a member of one of the commission’s subcommittees and had been providing expertise to legislators and state officials about blockchain technology applications and regulations for several years.

The Wyoming Stable Token Commission was established following legislation passed in 2023 and charged to “endeavor” in the creation of a virtual currency by the end of the year. The commission began a series of monthly meetings starting in May and created several subcommittees to examine various legal, technical and practical aspects of a stable token. The commission, chaired by Gov. Mark Gordon, also began the process of hiring an executive director.

Starting from square one and with a budget of $500,000 appropriated for its work, the commission solicited input from the public.

“We said, ‘Hey Steve, take a look at this, let us know what you think and what we need to change,’” Marchand said of the blockchain use case paper. “He came back said the commission is actually talking about this right now.”

Lupien said he was impressed when he read the stable token document prepared by Indico. He was familiar with the company’s members, as they all had taken classes from him and were involved with other blockchain-related activities at UW. Lupien introduced the Indico members to the commission at its meeting on Aug. 10.

“With some additional work, they got the document ready and did a great job of presenting the information to the governor and the commission,” Lupien said. He said the CBDI partnered with Indico to provide additional research materials for the commission.

“This is exactly the kind of experience students can get through our blockchain program, which is the only one of its kind in the nation, and the university,” he said.

In addition to Marchand, other members of Indico are Teagan Pennock, co-founder and CEO, a 2023 UW finance graduate; Isaac Riley, co-founder, a 2022 UW finance graduate; and Matthew Skrlac, COO and 2023 finance graduate. Pennock, Riley and Skrlac all earned a minor degree in blockchain.

The initial report presented to the commission laid out the advantages and disadvantages of several use cases that Indico believed could possibly align with the broad language of the Wyoming Stable Token Act. There were six use cases that Indico analyzed: Institutional Settlement, Retail Settlement, Tokenized Lottery System, Tokenized Municipal Bonds, Tokenized Deposits and Tokenized Money Market Mutual Fund.

The second report wasn't presented during an official Stable Token Commission meeting, but was posted for the public on the Wyoming Stable Token website. This report, “Market Size and Potential Market Capture Research,” contained a variety of information Indico gathered to help structure the business plan of an Institutional settlement token. This included global and domestic market capitalization and a breakdown of market share for the major stablecoins currently in operation.

Included was an analysis of the operations of the two largest stablecoin operators, Circle and Tether, in which their asset allocations were broken down and a summary of their financial standing in regard to profitability, amount raised and other key factors that Indico thought would provide value to the commissioners was provided. The final portion of this document was an early analysis of the potential profit/loss of a Wyoming Stable Token, based on many assumptions regarding the operations of the token, as well as hard GDP data on a state, national and international offering.

A third report, presented Dec. 21, was requested by the commission to help them compare the differences around various metrics for 15 blockchains. Some, but not all, of the metrics included time to finality, block size and stable token market capitalization. The document covers qualitative and quantitative information for each chain.

The three reports, agendas, recordings and all other materials related to the Wyoming Stable Token Commission can be found on the commission’s website at stabletoken.wyo.gov.

Indico members admitted they were nervous about presenting before the commission, state officials, blockchain industry experts and the public at the August meeting. But they relish the experience they gained in working with the UW Center for Blockchain and the confidence they’ve gained in serving the commission.

“When we originally founded Indico, the idea was that we could fund our more grandiose scalable ideas by providing consulting services to more traditional companies looking to utilize blockchain technology to their advantage,” said Pennock. “Had I thought we'd be working on behalf of the State of Wyoming this early into our company's journey? Not at all, but I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity. It’s exciting to be a part of such a historical endeavor and to put my education to use.”

The challenges of their work for the commission and other projects allows Indico members to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they received at UW, said Riley. It also provided an opportunity to gain new proficiencies.

“The most enjoyable part of the work, for me, is the creativity I get to show,” Riley said. “I had no real interest or experience in graphic design or user experience throughout college, but when we started Indico, I took on that role out of necessity. I ended up really enjoying it, and have now done a lot of creative work for Indico on that front.”

Working on an important project to benefit the state is rewarding, Indico members said.

“I find the opportunity to provide valuable information in a level-headed approach to those making significant decisions on the behalf of our state to be immensely satisfying,” Skrlac said. “In a broader sense, the ability to work with a team of independent minds in a fast-paced environment that touches so many fascinating fields is truly thrilling. We are at the forefront of some of the most disruptive technologies in our lifetime, and it is a pleasure to be a small part of it.”

Anthony Apollo was appointed in September as the Wyoming Stable Token Commission’s executive director. He likens his role to “running a startup inside the government” – overseeing everything from budgeting to product design, compliance to tech stack, and more in the endeavor to issue a potential Wyoming stable token.

The work by Indico and the CBDI has been essential to the commission before and after his appointment, Apollo said.

“I was impressed with their unbiased, standardized analysis across many chains with different models,” he said.

Their work, he said, has let the commission extend research efforts while not rushing to meet a deadline.

“Higher education needs more practical experiences like this versus just theory,” Apollo said.

Lupien appreciates the confidence Apollo and the Wyoming Stable Token Commission have placed in the CBDI and current and former UW students.

“That’s what the university and CBDI are here for,” Lupien said. “To educate and serve the state.”