The U.S. state of North Dakota is entering the stablecoin market through a new initiative led by the state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND) and fintech giant Fiserv. The collaboration aims to introduce “Roughrider Coin,” a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin designed to serve financial institutions across the state. Scheduled for release next year, the token will operate on Fiserv’s digital asset platform and integrate with its white-label FIUSD system, a regulated stablecoin framework tailored for banking environments.
According to the announcement, Roughrider Coin is intended to streamline interbank transactions, enhance global money movement, and promote merchant adoption of digital payment solutions. Fiserv, which processes more than 90 billion transactions annually for over 10,000 financial institutions, plans to use this initiative to strengthen its position as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain technology.
This development follows Fiserv’s June debut of its crypto issuance platform on Solana (SOL), further expanding the company’s footprint in the fast-growing stablecoin industry. The sector has surged to a market capitalization of $293 billion, reflecting a 70% increase within a year, driven largely by the GENIUS Act, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in July. The new law provides a federal framework for stablecoin issuers, granting financial institutions a clear legal pathway to adopt the technology.
With this move, North Dakota joins Wyoming, which launched its Frontier Stable Token earlier this year, as one of the few U.S. states embracing state-backed digital assets. The Roughrider Coin marks another step toward mainstream blockchain adoption in regulated finance, signaling growing momentum for U.S. state-level innovation in digital currency infrastructure.
