Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has threatened legal actions over the blockchain network's omission from the Wyoming Stablecoin project.
In a Nov. 25 video broadcast on social media platform X, Hoskinson accused the Wyoming Stable Token Commission of favoring certain blockchains and ignoring transparency. He noted that his company, Input Output Global (IOG), had served in an advisory capacity over the past 18 months but was not informed about the criteria or procedures for selecting blockchains.
Wyoming is set to debut the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Wyoming Stable Token (WST) in the first quarter of 2025. The Wyoming Stable Token Act passed in March 2024, authorized the creation of a commission to oversee the project. The act mandates that the stablecoin be backed by cash, U.S. Treasuries, and reverse repos, specifying strict maturity limits to maintain liquidity and stability.
Hoskinson's comments were ignited after reports emerged that the Commission has announced plans to launch its stablecoin using blockchains such as Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche, Stellar, and several layer-2 solutions, including Polygon and Optimism.
Cardano's absence sparked widespread criticism within the blockchain network's community, considering Hoskinson's longstanding ties to Wyoming's blockchain initiatives.
Legal action
In his video, Hoskinson argued that Cardano's exclusion violated Wyoming's good-faith procurement laws. He stated that the Commission denied Cardano a fair chance by bypassing a formal request-for-proposal process.
The Cardano founder also dismissed claims about Cardano's alleged technical shortcomings, calling them baseless and biased. He wrote on X:
“Nothing was published and an unelected bureaucrat decided himself what Cardano can and cannot do and then unilaterally excluded a nearly 40 billion dollar protocol without any debate or oversight. IOG isn't even allowed to bid on an RFP. This isn't what we fought for over the last few years in Wyoming. It's disgusting and shameful.”
Furthermore, Hoskinson expressed concerns that the selected blockchains might divert economic benefits away from Wyoming. He highlighted that Wyoming-based firms, including IOG, which have invested heavily in the state, might not gain from the project.
Due to this, the Cardano founder warned that the decision could harm Wyoming's blockchain ecosystem. He disclosed that his team is weighing potential litigation and other strategies to challenge the decision. He also warned that the issue could have political ramifications, particularly during future elections.
In a subsequent X post, Hoskinson stated:
“Several lawmakers have already reached out to both the commission and governor, saying that this process did not reflect their wishes with the bill and hurts Wyoming. Many options are moving forward, and they will follow a systematic process to address what was a broken and biased pre-qualification process designed to exclude IOG.”
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