An Official North Dakota Cryptocurrency Could Be on the Horizon

Rep. Nathan Toman believes that an official "North Dakota coin" could potentially help the state's struggling economy in the wake of COVID-19, an Aug. 7 article from Inforum said. "That was my hope, but we're a little bit late to the game on doing something like that," Toman told Inforum regarding COVID-19 and the potential state-sanctioned Blockchain asset.

Backed by aspects such as state-held precious metals and property, Toman told Inforum he sees the such an asset positioned as more of a store of value than a transactional currency. He additionally believes that it could function in tandem with loans and investing. 

Regulatory authorities put up resistance against Toman's North Dakota coin effort, although the representative retains a positive outlook for the future of the endeavor in light of the current economy and pandemic. 

While North Dakota may eventually issue its own Blockchain-based asset, the U.S. Federal Reserve currently looks toward releasing its FedNow digital money system.