Fiserv put its digital asset platform into operation with financial institutions and began the first production use of a digital currency integrated directly into traditional banking systems. The launch uses the Roughrider Coin, from the Bank of North Dakota, for transactions between banks and credit unions.
The coin is backed by the dollar and may be used by more than 90 financial institutions participants in the state bank's network. Transactions are processed on the Solana blockchain, while VersaBank acts as issuer and Fireblocks provides the digital asset and tokenization infrastructure.
The main advance is in the integration with the systems already used by banks. Institutions access the Roughrider Coin through the Commercial Center, Fiserv's commercial internet banking platform, without needing to migrate operations to external crypto asset environments.
The infrastructure brings together functions of issuance, reserves, custody and settlement. In the model adopted in North Dakota, each digital unit is backed by dollars and use is restricted to financial institutions.
Platform makes room for new uses
The move into production takes Fiserv's stablecoin strategy beyond the testing phase. The company had introduced FIUSD in 2025, a stablecoin created for integration with banking and payments systems.
According to the company, the same infrastructure could support international payments, stablecoin settlement, treasury automation and tokenized deposits.
In the case of the Roughrider Coin, banks and credit unions will be able to make transfers without cut-off times and with settlement close to real time, reducing dependence on intermediaries and the need to develop their own infrastructure.
