Over 140 Companies Launch Open USD Stablecoin to Challenge Circle

A consortium of more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock, and Google, has partnered to launch Open USD (OUSD), a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. Led by Zach Abrams, Open Standard will operate the coin as neutral infrastructure rather than a proprietary product, utilizing a governance board composed of its partners and operating under the US GENIUS Act of 2025.

The initiative aims to disrupt dominant issuers such as Circle and Tether by implementing a shared-economics model. Unlike traditional stablecoins that retain reserve interest, Open USD will distribute the bulk of reserve earnings back to partners and distributors after a small management fee. The project also eliminates minting and redemption fees without imposing volume limits to facilitate global B2B payments.

Following the June 30 announcement, shares of Circle fell between 15 and 17 percent to a four-month low. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire downplayed the impact, stating that his company remains focused on its own infrastructure. Open USD is expected to go live later in 2026, leveraging the distribution networks of its diverse partner group to scale within the internet economy.