Major Financial Players Unite to Launch Dollar-Backed Stablecoin With Revenue-Sharing Model
Backed by Visa, Mastercard, and leading cryptocurrency firms, this new initiative has the potential to compete directly with market leaders USDT from Tether and USDC from Circle, which currently dominate the stablecoin sector.
A coalition exceeding 140 firms has committed to a stablecoin initiative pegged to the US dollar, which enables participants to "receive all of the earnings" generated by its reserve holdings.
According to a Tuesday announcement, Open Standard revealed it would be introducing the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin, a digital currency tied to the US dollar with backing from major financial institutions such as Visa and Mastercard, along with cryptocurrency platforms Coinbase, Ripple, OKX and Bybit. Participating organizations will have the ability to create OUSD "at no cost and with no artificial limits on volume," while retaining profits generated from the reserves backing the coin.
When Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, Coinbase and Google coordinate on a new stablecoin, the signal is unmistakable. Open USD is the first launch with a real chance to win share from USDT and USDC, because reserve revenue flows back to everyone who holds it. But that same incentive is what drives fragmentation at scale.
Will Harborne, Rhino.fi co-founder and CEO
Given the support from numerous prominent corporations, this digital currency has the potential to mount a serious challenge against Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, which presently represent the two dominant stablecoins when measured by market capitalization. Shares of Circle Internet Group experienced a decline exceeding 16% on Tuesday, falling to $63.63.
Open Standard has indicated that OUSD will become available "later this year." Data from DefiLlama shows the stablecoin market's present valuation stands at more than $312 billion, with forecasts suggesting it could expand to as much as $4 trillion by 2030.
Through an X post published on Tuesday after the news broke, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated the organization welcomed "continued innovation and competition in the space," and mentioned that the company would be expanding its support for stablecoins pegged to the US dollar as well as those tied to other currencies.
[We] look forward to remaining laser-focused on building the best stablecoin infrastructure possible and driving more customer and partner success.
Jeremy Allaire, Circle CEO
Stablecoin launch comes under US law favorable to the industry
Last year, US President Donald Trump enacted legislation establishing a regulatory structure for payment stablecoins, known as the GENIUS Act. Industry analysts widely anticipate that this legislation, which awaits finalization of implementation regulations by federal authorities, may clear the path for significant expansion of the stablecoin marketplace as corporations could find it easier to issue and accept these digital assets.