A coalition including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase is backing Open USD (OUSD), a new dollar-pegged stablecoin, on Tuesday. The stablecoin, developed by Open Standard, aims to challenge market leaders Circle's USD Coin (USDC) and Tether's USDT by sharing nearly all reserve income with partners, minus a small management fee. The launch comes as US stablecoin regulation advances, with the CLARITY Act heading toward a Senate vote and the GENIUS Act having already established federal standards for reserves and licensing.
OUSD Introduces Revenue-Sharing Economic Model
According to Open Standard, OUSD's defining feature is its economic structure. The company explained that nearly all the revenue generated from the stablecoin's reserves, minus a small management fee, will be shared with the companies that adopt and distribute it, an arrangement it says is designed to reward participants for growing adoption of the shared asset. That model marks a departure from issuers like Circle and Tether, which retain the bulk of the reserve income generated by their tokens.
Coalition Includes Banks, Fintechs, Crypto Firms, and Tech Giants
Partners for the new stablecoin include BNY, Standard Chartered, BBVA, and DBS. Fintech firms including Adyen, SoFi, Klarna and Shopify, and crypto firms like Coinbase, Gemini, Galaxy, Ripple, Crypto.com and Polygon, as well as tech giants like Google and IBM, also participated as partners for the new stablecoin. According to a Bloomberg report, Tether, Circle, and PayPal will not participate in the Open Standard project. Together, Circle and Tether control roughly 80% of the more than $300 billion stablecoin market.
CLARITY Act Senate Vote Pressed for July
The CLARITY Act is heading toward a Senate vote, with Republican leaders pressing for action in July, while the GENIUS Act has already established federal standards for stablecoin reserves and licensing. Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, framed it as evidence of the payoff from clearer rules, writing that it was "another example of how clear rules of the road can unlock massive value." He added, "What GENIUS did for stablecoins, the Clarity Act will do for all other digital assets."
![Screenshot showing Patrick Witt's statement on regulatory clarity]()
Circle Stock Down 13% Following Announcement
CRCL stock is down over 13% in midday trading. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around CRCL moved to the 'bullish' zone from the 'bearish' zone, while chatter around it stayed at 'high' levels over the past day.
FAQ
What is Open USD and who is backing it?
Open USD (OUSD) is a new dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by a coalition including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase, launched on Tuesday. The stablecoin was developed by Open Standard and includes partners such as BNY, Standard Chartered, BBVA, DBS, Adyen, SoFi, Klarna, Shopify, Gemini, Galaxy, Ripple, Crypto.com, Polygon, Google, and IBM.
How does OUSD's revenue model differ from Circle and Tether?
According to Open Standard, OUSD shares nearly all the revenue generated from the stablecoin's reserves with the companies that adopt and distribute it, minus a small management fee. This marks a departure from issuers like Circle and Tether, which retain the bulk of the reserve income generated by their tokens.
