How does the state government evaluate the issuance of stablecoin public chains?

Recently, Wyoming in the United States has chosen to issue a public blockchain for its upcoming stablecoin WYST, adopting a public scoring system. The evaluation results show that Aptos and Solana tied for first place with 32 points, followed closely by Sei with 30 points, while Ethereum and several Layer 2 solutions scored relatively low, at only 26 points or less. This result differs somewhat from the common perception of the activity level and market performance of public blockchain ecosystems.

The Wyoming Stablecoin Committee was established in March 2023 under the state's Stable Token Act to promote the WYST project. The committee operates with a high level of transparency, publishing project-related information on public platforms, including introductions, meeting minutes, scoring criteria, and more.

The selection process is divided into multiple stages. First, the committee initially selected 28 public chains, filtering out 14 candidate chains based on four basic requirements (permissionless access, supply transparency, on-chain analytical capability, and freezing function). Subsequently, scoring was conducted using 9 core indicators (3 points each), involving aspects such as network stability, user activity, total locked value (TVL), stablecoin market capitalization, trading performance, fees, and finality. In addition, 5 additional advantages (2 points each) and 6 risk factors (-2 points each) were set for scoring adjustments.

Finally, the committee recommended 9 public chains as candidates, including 5 Layer 1 main chains and 4 Layer 2 solutions. Notably, Aptos and SEI were newly included in the evaluation in the first quarter of 2025. The evaluation criteria have also been updated, adding requirements for vendor support, compatibility with on-chain analysis platforms, as well as considerations for emerging market trends and foundation support.

From the comparison of core indicators, each public chain has its advantages. Ethereum is far ahead in terms of TVL, but performs poorly in aspects such as transaction speed, finality, and fees. The rise of Layer 2 solutions has also led to a decrease in the number of active users on the Ethereum mainnet. The reason Aptos can rank alongside Solana with the highest score is partly due to its balanced performance across various aspects, and partly thanks to the addition of new scoring items.

The results of this selection reflect the government's key considerations when choosing blockchain technology. Although the degree of decentralization is often regarded as an important factor, it was not listed separately in the actual scoring. Instead, indicators such as performance, cost, and scale occupied a more important position. Additionally, whether there is a physical entity established locally also became a consideration factor in the scoring.

The progress of the WYST project is also worth noting. As the first project in the United States planned to issue a state-level stablecoin, its issuance date has been postponed from the originally scheduled July 2024 to August 20, 2025. The project also involves multiple preparatory tasks, including the formulation of reserve management rules, account establishment, and collaboration with service providers.

Apart from Wyoming, Nebraska and the Northern Mariana Islands are also advancing similar stablecoin plans. This trend evokes memories of the free banking era in 19th century America, when various institutions issued a wide variety of coins, lacking a unified standard.

Recently, discussions about the RMB stablecoin have become increasingly heated. Both the government and enterprises are faced with the issue of choosing a suitable blockchain platform. Although Wyoming's scoring and disclosure system may have its shortcomings, it provides a useful reference for other regions and institutions. In the future, we can expect to see more innovative governance methods emerging in this field.