Bank of North Dakota Partners With Fiserv to Unveil U.S. Dollar-Backed Stablecoin

The Bank of North Dakota has joined the stablecoin race. In close collaboration with Fiserv Inc. (NYSE: FI), the Bank of North Dakota announced on Wednesday its plans to unveil a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin dubbed Roughrider Coin. 

“As one of the first states to issue our own stablecoin backed by real money, North Dakota is taking a cutting-edge approach to creating a secure and efficient financial ecosystem for our citizens,” Kelly Armstrong, Governor at the Bank of North Dakota, said.

Key Details of the North Dakota Stablecoin

The Roughrider Coin will be made available to banks and other financial institutions in North Dakota in 2026. According to the Bank of North Dakota, the Roughrider coin will be seamlessly swapped to other assets to enhance the state’s digital payments.

The Fiserv platform was selected due to its vast network including 10k financial institution clients, 6 million merchants, and processes over 90 billion transactions annually. 

“With Roughrider Coin, we’re bringing together the reliability of traditional finance and the innovation of blockchain to deliver faster and smarter digital payments,” Takis Georgakopoulos, COO at Fiserv, noted.

Bigger Picture

The strategic launch of the Roughrider Coin, which is ostensibly inspired by Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, follows the notable changes in federal laws. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump enacted the GENIUS Act, which prohibited the Federal Reserve from launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
However, the GENIUS Act enabled financial institutions to explore stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar in a regulated manner. North Dakota follows a similar initiative by Wyoming, whereby it recently announced its Frontier Stable Token (FRNT).