Open USD Goes Live as Payments Giants Back New Stablecoin Model

What to Know

• Open USD went live on Wednesday on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo.
• Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are the first five founding partners and investors in Open Standard.
• The founding partners have committed more than $1 billion to establish OUSD liquidity over the coming months.
• Each founding partner received an equal initial equity stake, though the size of the investments and stakes was not disclosed.
• Open Standard’s partner network has grown from more than 140 companies to over 200 companies.
• Newer partners include UBS, Japan’s SBI Holdings and fintech Jeeves.
• CEO Zach Abrams said the overwhelming majority of Open Standard’s equity is intended to be distributed over the next 4-5 years to founders and partners based on contribution to OUSD growth.
• Open USD is entering a stablecoin market worth more than $300 billion, where USDT has about $143 billion in circulation and USDC has roughly $74 billion.
• Open Standard is targeting banking, cross-border payments, card settlement, institutional trading and lending.
• Open USD will eliminate minting and burning fees, according to Tempo chief business officer Dan Romero.

Open USD Enters a Crowded Stablecoin Market

Open Standard has launched Open USD, bringing a new dollar-denominated stablecoin into a market already shaped by deep liquidity, entrenched distribution networks and growing institutional interest. The token, known as OUSD, went live on Wednesday across Ethereum, Solana, Coinbase’s Base and Stripe-backed Tempo, giving it immediate access to several major blockchain ecosystems used by traders, payment companies and financial technology platforms.

The launch places Open USD directly in competition with the largest dollar stablecoins while also testing a different business structure. Rather than building around a single issuer that captures most of the economics, Open Standard is presenting OUSD as a network-oriented product in which partners can share in ownership and rewards as they help grow supply and transaction activity.

Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are the first five founding partners and investors in Open Standard. Each received an equal initial equity stake in the company. The founding group has committed more than $1 billion to establish OUSD liquidity over the coming months, a significant early push for a new entrant in a market where liquidity is often the most important competitive advantage.

A Different Ownership Model for Stablecoins

Stablecoin issuers typically earn income from the cash and securities that back their tokens. In the largest existing models, those economics are either retained largely by the issuer or shared with selected distribution partners. Open Standard is attempting to make partner alignment a core part of its structure from the start.

CEO Zach Abrams has framed Open USD as an effort to build a stablecoin that becomes useful in the same way the U.S. dollar is useful: widely accepted, deeply liquid and often invisible to the end user. He has argued that stablecoins are most successful when they recede into the background and become part of everyday financial accounts, payment flows and settlement systems.

Under Open Standard’s model, founding partners will not receive a special revenue share simply because they joined early. Instead, rewards are set to be tied to how much OUSD supply and transaction activity a partner helps generate. That framework is also expected to apply to other partners in the broader network, provided they meet a minimum threshold. The specific threshold has not been disclosed.

Abrams said the overwhelming majority of Open Standard’s capitalization table is intended to be distributed back to founders and non-founders based on their role in growing the network. That distribution is expected to unfold over the next 4-5 years. The approach could make OUSD’s growth resemble a partner incentive system as much as a traditional issuer-led rollout.

Founding Partners Bring Payments and Crypto Reach

The first founding group gives Open Standard a mix of crypto infrastructure, global payments, commerce and blockchain settlement exposure. Coinbase brings a major crypto exchange and onchain ecosystem presence. Mastercard and Visa represent major payment network reach. Stripe brings payments infrastructure and exposure to Tempo. Shopify adds a major commerce platform with potential relevance for merchant-facing payment use cases.

The companies are expected to support OUSD liquidity in ways that match their respective businesses. That may include holding OUSD on balance sheets, holding OUSD onchain, helping market-make or supporting use cases that deepen token utility. The individual size of each firm’s investment has not been disclosed, and the initial equity stakes were described only as equal.

Open Standard currently has those five companies as its only investors, though the founding group is expected to expand eventually to roughly 10 to 12 companies. The company also plans to establish a board of directors composed of founders. That governance design is important because Open Standard is not positioning itself as a broad committee run by hundreds of partners, even though its partner network is already large.

Partner Network Expands Beyond Payments

Open Standard first emerged in June with more than 140 partners across payments, banking, crypto and technology. That network has since grown to over 200 companies. Recent additions include UBS, Japan’s SBI Holdings and fintech Jeeves, adding traditional finance and international reach to a group already connected to payment and crypto infrastructure.

The breadth of the partner network underscores how stablecoin competition is increasingly moving beyond issuance. The sector is no longer only about launching a digital dollar and maintaining reserves. Distribution, liquidity, settlement integrations and real-world payment channels are becoming central battlegrounds. Stablecoins that are easy for companies to use across payment, treasury and trading workflows may have an advantage over tokens with weaker institutional connectivity.

That is the opening Open Standard is seeking. The company is targeting banking, cross-border payments, card settlement, institutional trading and lending. Those areas all involve money movement that can be slow, fragmented or expensive under traditional rails, especially when transactions cross platforms or borders. Stablecoins can potentially reduce settlement friction by allowing value to move onchain at any time, though adoption still depends on regulation, liquidity, compliance and operational reliability.

USDT and USDC Remain the Benchmarks

Open USD enters a stablecoin market worth more than $300 billion. The sector remains dominated by Tether’s USDT, with about $143 billion in circulation, and Circle’s USDC, with roughly $74 billion. Those two tokens benefit from deep liquidity, established exchange usage and large user bases, making the challenge for any new stablecoin substantial.

For Open USD, the immediate task is not only to mint supply but to create activity around that supply. Stablecoins gain durability when they are used for payments, trading, lending, settlement and treasury operations rather than sitting idle. Open Standard’s reward framework reflects that dynamic by considering transaction activity alongside supply generation.

The emergence of OUSD also comes as more banks, payment companies and fintechs explore stablecoin structures. Some market participants see stablecoins as a way to improve payment speed and programmability, while others view them as a new layer of financial infrastructure that could connect crypto markets with traditional finance. At the same time, competition is likely to intensify as firms evaluate whether to partner with existing issuers, launch new tokens or support multi-issuer models.

Tempo Sees a Path to Deeper Liquidity

Tempo, the Stripe-backed blockchain included in OUSD’s initial launch, is expected to compete to become one of the deepest liquidity venues for the stablecoin. Tempo chief business officer Dan Romero said Open USD will eliminate minting and burning fees, which could matter for companies moving large amounts of money into and out of stablecoins.

Romero said he sees a path to roughly $1 billion of OUSD on Tempo within the next few months. He also said that figure could rise to more than $10 billion during 2027 and potentially exceed $100 billion over the next several years. Those projections remain expectations, not guaranteed outcomes, and they depend on whether OUSD can attract enough partners, use cases and transaction flow to justify that scale.

Open Standard plans to issue OUSD across multiple blockchains, which could help it reach different types of users. Ethereum offers broad decentralized finance and institutional familiarity. Solana is associated with high-throughput consumer and trading applications. Base brings Coinbase ecosystem access. Tempo adds a payments-focused environment connected to Stripe’s broader strategy. The multi-chain approach may reduce reliance on any single network, but it also requires liquidity coordination across ecosystems.

Demand May Extend Beyond the Dollar

While OUSD is launching as a dollar stablecoin, Open Standard is already seeing demand for stablecoins in other currencies. Abrams has said the network is already asking for additional stablecoins, suggesting the model could eventually expand beyond U.S. dollar exposure if partner demand supports it.

That potential expansion reflects a broader trend in digital money. Dollar stablecoins currently dominate global crypto settlement, but banks, fintechs and payment companies also have use cases for euro-backed and other currency-backed tokens. Companies operating internationally may prefer currency options that match customer balances, merchant settlement needs or regional financial activity.

Abrams previously co-founded and led Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2024. Bridge issued a euro-backed token for Revolut, highlighting demand from financial firms for tokenized currencies beyond the dollar. Open Standard’s future currency roadmap is expected to be driven by network demand rather than a fixed public schedule.

A Long-Term Bet on Money Movement

Open Standard’s ambition is larger than taking share from existing stablecoins. Abrams has described a long-term vision in which Open USD rails handle hundreds of trillions of dollars a year as stablecoins become embedded in global money movement. That is an expansive target and remains a long-term aspiration, but it reflects the scale of the opportunity that stablecoin companies believe is available if digital settlement becomes mainstream.

For now, OUSD’s success will likely depend on whether its founding partners and broader network convert commitments into real transaction activity. Liquidity, payment integrations, institutional trust and regulatory durability will all matter. The founding partner lineup gives Open Standard a notable starting point, but stablecoin markets tend to reward actual usage over announcements.

The launch marks another sign that stablecoins are becoming a strategic priority for payments companies, crypto platforms and financial institutions. With OUSD now live on multiple blockchains and backed by a partner-driven ownership model, Open Standard is testing whether a more distributed economic structure can challenge the issuer-centric models that currently dominate digital dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Open USD?

Open USD, or OUSD, is a dollar-denominated stablecoin launched by Open Standard. It is designed for use in payments, banking, settlement, institutional trading, lending and other money movement applications.

Which blockchains support Open USD at launch?

Open USD went live on Ethereum, Solana, Coinbase’s Base and Stripe-backed Tempo. Open Standard plans to issue OUSD across multiple blockchains.

Who are Open Standard’s founding partners?

The first five founding partners and investors are Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa. Each received an equal initial equity stake in Open Standard.

How much liquidity have the founding partners committed?

The founding partners have committed more than $1 billion to establish OUSD liquidity over the coming months. The specific investment size for each company was not disclosed.

How is Open Standard’s model different from other stablecoin issuers?

Open Standard plans to reward partners based on their contribution to OUSD supply and transaction activity. The company also intends to distribute much of its equity over time to founders and network partners based on their role in growing the stablecoin.

How large is the stablecoin market Open USD is entering?

Open USD is entering a stablecoin market worth more than $300 billion. USDT has about $143 billion in circulation, while USDC has roughly $74 billion.

Will Open USD charge minting and burning fees?

Tempo chief business officer Dan Romero said Open USD will eliminate minting and burning fees. That could help companies that move large amounts of money in and out of stablecoins.

Could Open Standard launch stablecoins in other currencies?

Open Standard is already seeing demand for stablecoins in other currencies. Any expansion beyond the dollar is expected to be driven by demand from the network.

What will determine whether OUSD succeeds?

OUSD’s success will depend on liquidity, partner adoption, transaction activity, institutional use cases and its ability to compete with established stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.