BISMARCK — Bankers, public officials and an academic observer are cautiously optimistic in the wake of the Bank of North Dakota’s announcement of plans to create a new digital currency.

The state-owned bank announced Wednesday, Oct. 8, it will create the Roughrider coin, a form of cryptocurrency called a stablecoin that will be tied to the value of the U.S. dollar. The goal is to facilitate near instant transfers of money between banks.

Unlike bitcoin, stablecoin is not subject to volatile price swings because it’s backed by conventional financial assets, overwhelmingly the U.S. dollar.

Bank of North Dakota leaders featured the announcement during a conference focused on innovation affecting financial institutions.

“They’re taking a step forward into new technologies, and certainly the

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