Summary
The Open Standard consortium — backed by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, Coinbase, Ripple, Google, Shopify, DoorDash and more than 140 partners — launched Open USD (OUSD) on June 30, with zero minting fees and a model that returns nearly all reserve income to distributing partners. The pitch is squarely aimed at the most valuable line of business behind USDC: the reserve income that Circle earns on the assets backing the token. OUSD is expected to launch later in 2026 on networks including Tempo and Solana.
Circle reported $2.7 billion in total revenue and reserve income for 2025 (up 64% year-on-year) and $652.5 million in reserve income in Q1 2026 — accounting for 94% of its total revenue and reserve income that quarter. Open USD flips the distribution model: instead of an issuer capturing reserve yield and sharing some back, the companies distributing the stablecoin participate directly in the economics after a management fee.
Circle's stock fell more than 16% after the June 30 announcement, trading as low as about $63. CoinShares, in a July report covered by CoinDesk, called Open USD the most credible threat yet to Circle's USDC because it attacks distribution economics rather than launching another dollar token. The consortium's credibility rests on Visa and Mastercard — direct card-network competitors — appearing in the same group.
Key Facts
- Open Standard announced OUSD on June 30, backed by 140+ partners including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, Coinbase, Ripple, Google, Shopify, DoorDash.
- Founding CEO is Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge (acquired by Stripe in a deal TechCrunch put at $1.1 billion, completed Feb 2025).
- Zero minting fees, no volume caps; most reserve revenue returned to participating companies after a management fee.
- Launch networks named include Tempo and Solana, with other chains expected; OUSD not yet live (expected later in 2026).
- Circle earned $652.5M reserve income in Q1 2026; reserve income was 94% of total revenue/reserve income that quarter; total other revenue was only $41.6M.
- Circle ended March 2026 with $77.0B of USDC in circulation; total revenue and reserve income for the quarter reached $694.1M.
- Circle stock fell 16%+ after the June 30 announcement, trading as low as ~$63.
- Reserves to be managed at major financial institutions under U.S. regulatory requirements; governance by an independent company with collaborative governance.
Why It Matters
Stablecoins have shifted from a crypto side street to payment infrastructure, and the companies that already dominate payments don't want an independent issuer collecting most of the rent. Open USD's real innovation is structural: it weaponizes the distribution layer against the issuer layer. If banks, card networks, merchant platforms and fintechs can move hundreds of millions through a stablecoin while keeping the reserve yield themselves, Circle's issuer-level margins become hard to defend.
The open question is not whether OUSD kills USDC — USDC still holds the liquidity, exchange integrations, DeFi usage and corporate-treasury adoption that years of operating history built. The question is whether Circle can keep earning issuer-level margins once its biggest distributors have a credible alternative in their own hands. The consortium's arrival also reshapes competitive dynamics for every stablecoin issuer and forces a re-pricing of distribution agreements across the industry.
Sources
- https://startupfortune.com/visa-stripe-and-140-partners-launch-open-usd-to-take-circles-stablecoin-revenue/
- https://www.coindesk.com (CoinShares July report on Open USD)