TLDR
- Open USD (OUSD) launched on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo with over $1 billion in liquidity commitments.
- Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are the five founding partners, each holding equal equity stakes.
- The stablecoin market is worth more than $300 billion, led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
- Open Standard plans to distribute most of its equity to partners based on how much they grow OUSD.
- Mizuho downgraded Circle stock in July, citing competition from the new stablecoin model.
A new stablecoin called Open USD went live this week. The token launched on four blockchains and comes with more than $1 billion in backing.
$OUSD is live.
Build with OUSD via @Coinbase @Mastercard @Stripe and @Visa. Each integration path supports 1:1 USD conversion at no cost.
Read the announcement: https://t.co/177w9TlM77. pic.twitter.com/SEWT6vCXPS
— Open Standard (@openstandard) September 30, 2026
Open Standard is the company behind the coin. It is supported by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa.
These five companies are the founding partners. Each one holds an equal starting stake in Open Standard.
CEO Zach Abrams explained the goal behind the project. He said the team wants OUSD to work like regular money rather than just another investment product.
“We want to be the most useful stablecoin, the same way the U.S. dollar is useful,” Abrams said. He added that other stablecoins behave more like funds than usable currency.
How The Launch Works
OUSD is now live on Ethereum, Solana, Coinbase’s Base network and Stripe’s Tempo network. The five founding partners plan to support the coin in different ways.
Some may hold OUSD directly. Others may help with market-making or keep the token on their own platforms.
Together, the group has committed over $1 billion toward building liquidity for the coin. This means making sure there is enough OUSD available for people to use.
Open Standard first introduced its stablecoin plans in June. At that time, more than 140 companies were named as potential partners, including BlackRock, BNY and Standard Chartered.
Only five of those companies have become actual investors so far. Abrams said he expects the founding group to grow to around 10 to 12 companies over time.
The wider network looking to use OUSD has grown past 200 companies. New additions include Japan’s SBI Holdings, Swiss bank UBS and fintech firm Jeeves.
Competing With Tether And Circle
The stablecoin market is currently worth more than $300 billion. Tether’s USDT leads with about $143 billion in circulation.
— Open Standard (@openstandard) September 24, 2026
Circle’s USDC follows with roughly $74 billion. Open USD enters this market with a different approach to ownership and rewards.
Normally, stablecoin issuers earn interest on the assets backing their tokens. Tether keeps most of this income for itself.
Circle shares a portion of its USDC earnings with partners like Coinbase. Open Standard wants to go further than that model.
Abrams said founding partners will not get a special cut of revenue. Instead, they will earn rewards tied to how much OUSD supply and activity they help generate.
“The overwhelming majority of our cap table is going to be distributed back to founders and non-founders based on how they help grow the network,” Abrams said.
Open USD will not charge fees for minting or redeeming tokens. Tempo’s chief business officer, Dan Romero, said this could lower costs for companies moving large sums of money.
Romero expects roughly $1 billion of OUSD on Tempo within a few months. He projects that number could grow past $10 billion in 2027.
Circle Faces Analyst Pressure
Circle stock has already felt pressure from the Open USD announcement. In July, Mizuho cut its price target on Circle from $85 to $50.
The bank also downgraded Circle’s rating from Neutral to Underperform. Analysts pointed to competition from Open USD as the main reason.
Mizuho raised its estimate for Circle’s 2027 distribution and transaction expense ratio from 64% to 73%. It also lowered its adjusted earnings forecast from $1.09 billion to $699 million.
Despite backing OUSD, Coinbase, Visa and Mastercard remain partners with Circle’s USDC. Abrams said Open Standard is also hearing demand for stablecoins in other currencies, including from European markets.
