Mastercard

Open Standard has launched Open USD on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo with Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa as founding partners. The stablecoin issuer is pitching a partner-driven ownership and rewards model as it enters a market led by USDT and USDC.

Circle’s Arc blockchain launched with major institutional validators and strong transaction activity, but its first day was dominated by speculative memecoin trading rather than stablecoin payments. Several early tokens have dropped sharply from launch highs, fueling debate over whether Arc can balance corporate payments ambitions with crypto’s riskier trading culture.

AI agents are beginning to act as autonomous customers, paying for data, computing power, APIs and online tools. Stablecoins, led by USDC in early measured activity, are gaining traction for small machine-to-machine payments while card networks work to adapt.

Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen says investors may be underestimating Circle as stablecoins expand from roughly $300 billion toward a multi-trillion-dollar market. He argues Circle’s long-term opportunity could extend beyond reserve revenue into payments infrastructure, including its Arc blockchain.

Mastercard has completed its acquisition of BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. The transaction highlights how major payments companies and crypto platforms are competing for influence in a stablecoin market worth about $300 billion.

Circle shares advanced in premarket trading after the stablecoin issuer topped profit expectations despite a slight revenue miss. The company also highlighted growing institutional support for Arc, its layer 1 blockchain network, alongside continued expansion in USDC activity.

Coinbase, Visa and Mastercard executives are presenting Open USD as an added stablecoin network rather than a replacement for USDC. The messaging follows a sharp Circle stock selloff after investors initially viewed the more than 140-partner consortium as a direct threat to the $72 billion USDC ecosystem.

Zakura has launched as a new Zcash full node designed to speed synchronization, support pruning, and maintain compatibility with legacy zcashd integrations. The release lands as Zcash developers prepare for Ironwood and pursue a broader plan to scale private payments toward Visa- and Mastercard-level throughput.

The United States is preparing a 25% Section 301 tariff on most Brazilian goods from July 22, citing Brazil’s Pix instant-payment system as an unfair trade barrier. The dispute lands as dollar-linked stablecoins already account for about 90% of Brazil’s crypto transaction volume, complicating the debate over dollar influence in digital payments.

Swift’s blockchain settlement expansion and Stripe’s proposed PayPal bid highlight a new phase in the fight over global payment infrastructure. The focus is shifting from proving stablecoin technology to controlling wallets, merchant acceptance and settlement rails.

The x402 Foundation has launched as a neutral open-source venue for companies including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Google, Coinbase-linked participants and blockchain groups to shape a standard for AI-driven payments. The protocol aims to let AI agents, machines and users transact over HTTP without relying on subscriptions, advertising models or manual card entry.

Stripe has offered to acquire PayPal in a $53 billion proposal backed by Advent International, setting up a potential blockbuster payments deal. The approach comes as both companies push deeper into stablecoins and blockchain-linked payment infrastructure.

The Linux Foundation has launched the x402 Foundation with 40 members, including Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Google, Amazon Web Services and Cloudflare. The protocol processed about 75 million transactions worth $24 million over the past 30 days, highlighting demand for small stablecoin payments between software agents.

Mizuho lowered Circle to underperform from neutral and cut its price target to $50 from $85, citing competition from Open USD. The bank warned that a yield pass through model could pressure Circle margins by shifting more reserve income toward distribution partners.

Mizuho reiterated a neutral view on Circle after the company secured final OCC approval to establish First National Digital Currency Bank. The firm said the milestone is constructive, but it does not resolve concerns around USDC supply trends, competitive pressure and the broader commoditization of stablecoins.

Circle shares bounced after a sharp selloff, but Jefferies warned that fresh competition from bank and fintech-backed stablecoins could weigh on USDC growth. The Open USD consortium, backed by major payments and finance firms, is emerging as a possible challenge to Circle's market share.

Circle shares tumbled after a consortium of more than 140 companies unveiled Open USD, a rival stablecoin network designed to challenge the economics of USDC. Backers include Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa and BlackRock.