Open Standard, a new independent consortium company, has launched Open USD (OUSD) with more than 140 founding partners, the most broadly backed STABLECOIN launch in history. This includes Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, Coinbase, American Express, Google, Samsung, Shopify, DoorDash, Ripple, Aave, OKX, Standard Chartered, DBS, U.S. Bank, BBVA, and Solana. OUSD, led by interim CEO Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge (acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion), will mint and redeem with no fees or volume caps, return nearly all reserve earnings to partner businesses, be governed collectively rather than by a single issuer, and launch natively on Solana before expanding to Polygon, Stellar, Aptos, and Base. Circle’s stock fell nearly 18% on the announcement as Coinbase, currently sharing USDC reserve revenue with Circle under a deal up for renewal, joined the rival consortium.

Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase and BlackRock Unite Behind Open USD (OUSD): The First Real Threat to USDT and USDC?