Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase Launch Open USD, the Stablecoin of Over 140 Companies
Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase Launch Open USD, the Stablecoin of Over 140 Companies
A consortium of over 140 companies led by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock has founded Open Standard, an independent company established on June 30 to govern and operate Open USD (OUSD), a stablecoin pegged to the dollar. Among the partners are BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, US Bank, Google, Shopify, Ripple, IBM, Mercado Pago, Aave, Solana, Polygon, Fireblocks, and Anchorage Digital, according to reports from Open Standard and its stablecoin Open USD (OUSD).
Leading the company as CEO is Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge, the company acquired by Stripe in 2024. The economic model of OUSD focuses on the absence of costs: partner companies can issue and redeem the token without fees and without volume limits. Almost all revenues generated from reserves, minus a small management fee, are redistributed to partners instead of remaining with the issuer. Governance follows the same collective principle: the board is composed of consortium partners, not a single controlling entity.
A Model Already Tested
The revenue-sharing mechanism mirrors that already adopted by the Global Dollar Network (USDG) of Paxos, which redistributes reserve revenues to partners like Robinhood, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital. The actual launch of Open USD is expected in 2026, without a specific date, across multiple blockchains including Solana, Stellar, Base, and Polygon.
"Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but for companies to use them on a large scale, they need something open, economical, high-capacity, widely accessible, and aligned with their interests," said Abrams.
The Impact on Circle and the Market Context
The announcement had an immediate effect on the markets: the stock of Circle (CRCL) dropped between 15% and 17% on the day, hitting a four-month low around $63. The overall stablecoin market currently exceeds $312 billion, with Tether (USDT) controlling about 62% and Circle (USDC) about 25%; Citi has projected growth up to $4 trillion by 2030. The regulatory framework in the United States is the GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, which imposes 1:1 reserves and anti-money laundering rules on payment stablecoins.
This is not an isolated case in the payments sector, with Mastercard recently acquiring the stablecoin company BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, adding to its participation in the Open Standard consortium.
Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, minimized the threat: "Stablecoins represent one of the greatest market opportunities in the world, as the internet transforms the infrastructure for storing and moving money. We welcome innovation and competition in the sector and will continue to focus on building the best possible stablecoin infrastructure, aimed at the success of customers and partners."