The Bank of North Dakota’s Roughrider Coin, a dollar-backed stablecoin, has launched on Fiserv’s digital asset platform, settling on the Solana blockchain. This initiative is designed to offer over 90 banks and credit unions in North Dakota a new method for interbank money transfers.
Fiserv announced on October 1 that its digital asset platform is now live with financial institutional clients, with the Roughrider Coin being the first product to operate on this infrastructure. The platform aims to provide financial institutions with enhanced efficiencies in banking and payments through digital assets.
Fiserv is providing the issuance, reserve, custody, and settlement infrastructure for the Roughrider Coin. VersaBank is handling the coin’s issuance and custody, including minting, burning, and managing reserve assets. Fireblocks is supplying the digital asset infrastructure and tokenization services, while transactions are processed on the Solana blockchain.
“Roughrider Coin is a new tool to move money more efficiently across North Dakota’s interbank network,” according to information provided. Fiserv stated it is “helping clients unlock new efficiencies in banking and payments” while maintaining expected security and regulatory standards. David Taylor, VersaBank founder and president, described the combination of Fiserv’s scale with VersaBank’s regulated capabilities as a “trusted foundation to bring stablecoins into established banking and payments systems.”
Participating institutions will access the Roughrider Coin via Fiserv’s Commercial Center online banking system. Fiserv’s digital asset platform also supports other services, including stablecoin card issuance, cross-border payments, programmable commerce, treasury automation, tokenized deposits, and global currency account services.
The launch of the Roughrider Coin occurs as financial institutions navigate evolving regulatory landscapes and consumer perceptions of stablecoins. The Federal Reserve has proposed two rules under the GENIUS Act concerning stablecoin backing and issuance by supervised banks. These proposals, open to public comment for 60 days, aim to establish guidelines for reserve backing and bank issuance of payment stablecoins. The specific details and outcomes of these proposed rules remain uncertain.
Consumer awareness and trust also present challenges for stablecoin adoption. A Visa study indicated that 56% of surveyed Americans had never heard of stablecoins. However, the study also found that 45% would be willing to use them when offered by an existing financial provider, compared to 36% in a scenario without hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance. The extent to which consumer confidence will grow, despite initial low awareness, is an area of uncertainty.
Don Morgan, Bank of North Dakota’s chief executive, commented on the coin’s purpose. Sunil Sachdev is Fiserv’s head of embedded finance and digital assets.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: The Bank of North Dakota’s Roughrider Coin, a dollar-backed stablecoin, has been launched on Fiserv’s digital asset platform. The specific details and outcomes of the Federal Reserve’s proposed stablecoin rules.
Broader Context
Source materials place the factual news in this context: The launch comes as financial institutions face questions about how stablecoins should be backed, supervised, and presented to customers.
