BISMARCK — One of the state officials responsible for overseeing the Bank of North Dakota is urging caution as the financial institution begins developing the state’s first stablecoin.

The state-owned bank announced earlier this month it is developing a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency, that will be named the Roughrider coin. The digital currency will be able to facilitate instant money transfers, streamline bank-to-bank transactions and, potentially, be used by North Dakotans in daily life, though that is likely years away.

Unlike bitcoin, stablecoin is not subject to volatile price swings because it’s backed by conventional financial assets, overwhelmingly the U.S. dollar. But Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring still wants the bank to be cautious.

“That’s an area we’ve got t

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