My name is Anthony Apollo, and I am honored to serve as the inaugural Executive Director of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission. I began my tenure on September 18, 2023 and look forward to launching the first stable token developed in the public sector in the United States.

Before my appointment to the STC, I worked as a startup founder in the blockchain space for six years. Most recently, I founded Rensa with my brothers and moved from New York to Cheyenne to build the company.

We believed that Wyoming is the best state to grow a blockchain business, and we maintain that belief today. The Stable Token Act, Digital Asset Registration Act, and over 40 other pieces of progressive legislation are evidence of this.

If you’d like to learn more about my background and work experience to date, those details follow below.

Anthony J. Apollo, Executive Director

LinkedIn • [email protected]

Background

• I began my career in traditional finance. This started with several years in audit and accounting at KPMG, followed by three years at Ernst & Young focused on regulatory transformation. Assessing and advising on the internal workings of some of the world’s largest financial institutions is what pulled me into the cryptocurrency space, seeing a true need for enhanced transparency and open-source data.
• Several transitions led me and my brother Frank to found the first decentralized, fan-owned science fiction franchise in 2017. This project, called “Cellarius,” was developed within the Brooklyn-based Ethereum incubator ConsenSys. Our team designed on-chain tokens for both content curation and creator royalties.
• Following changes within ConsenSys in late 2018, several members of our team and I went independent to work with NBA athlete Spencer Dinwiddie to issue a compliant debt security token in the United States, to our knowledge the only such launch. This project required coordination with over a dozen partners, both the NBA and the Player’s Association, and the corresponding domestic regulatory authorities. A stable token was used for interest payments on the bond’s three-year term, which successfully reached maturity in July 2023.
• Through my work at Rensa, I have had to perpetually assess new technology, platforms, partners, and legal frameworks within the rapidly evolving “Web3” space. This includes blockchains, digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and more.

The digital asset industry is a volatile one, and it is one that I have been working in since 2017. This is something that would not have been possible without passion for decentralization, efficiency, and transparency.

Experience

In addition to the high-level points above, my experience in launching a compliant debt security token within the United States is specifically relevant to my ability to facilitate the launch of the Wyoming Stable Token.

Following changes within ConsenSys in late 2018, I formed Saffron Solutions LLC with several of my co-founders from the ConsenSys Sports vertical. Saffron’s major client was professional NBA athlete Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets.

While Spencer had many ideas on how to implement crypto and blockchain into his entrepreneurial endeavors, we settled on a tokenized bond structure. This would allow Spencer to raise capital up-front, collateralized by his guaranteed salary from the NBA, endorsement deals, and other revenue streams. This model combined elements of David Bowie’s “Bowie Bonds” and Fantex’s issuance of equity shares for athletes.

Accomplishing this world-first combination of traditional finance and blockchain technology was a lengthy 18-month process that required:

• A rigorous “Request for Proposal” (RFP) process to assess the most well-equipped teams for the job across multiple verticals including legal, technical, token issuance, stablecoins, tax, and accounting.
• Creating a Budget (over $2M) to project costs of the endeavor, with sufficient buffer to accommodate “known unknowns” that would crop up in such a unique launch.
• Designing the Financial Mechanics of the Debt Instrument, which required sign-off from internal (legal and broker-dealer) and external (NBA and NBPA) stakeholders.
• Contracting over a dozen parties to act as internal stakeholders including counsel, broker-dealer, payment agent, security token issuer, stablecoin issuer, marketing teams, insurance brokers, accountants, tax advisory, and more.
• Creating a KYC/AML and Accredited Investor Onboarding process to ensure investors in the security token met the requirements of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
• Working through intense pushback from the NBA, media misinformation (who mischaracterized the token as representing “shares of Spencer’s contract”), and responding to US regulators regarding the content and structure of the launch.

While we hit many hurdles along the way, the “SD26 Token” successfully launched in July 2020. And while the funding raised did not hit the amount Spencer targeted, the fact that this launch was completed at all during COVID restrictions – while the NBA was actively shut down – is a testament to the robust effort our team and all the stakeholders contributed.

I intend to meet and exceed the same high bar as an Executive Director to facilitate the launch of a Wyoming Stable Token.