Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller used a keynote address at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on 20 Aug 2025 to call the current wave of advances in payments a “technology-driven revolution.” He said artificial intelligence, tokenization and dollar-backed stablecoins could make transactions faster, safer and more inclusive, and urged the U.S. central bank to engage more closely with private-sector innovators. Waller argued that payments innovation should remain chiefly a private-sector endeavor but added that the Fed must modernize its clearing and settlement services and deepen its own research on AI, smart contracts and distributed ledgers. He highlighted the potential for stablecoins to reinforce the international role of the dollar and welcomed the recently enacted GENIUS Act, which creates a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The governor did not comment on interest rates or the economic outlook, limiting his remarks to payments policy. His appearance comes hours before the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release minutes of its July meeting, where Waller had been one of the dissenters in favor of a 25-basis-point rate cut.