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.