A significant consortium of over 140 entities, spanning major payment networks, financial institutions, technology companies, and cryptocurrency firms, has united to launch Open USD (OUSD). This new stablecoin initiative aims to establish a shared, fee-free system for minting and redeeming stablecoins, with a novel revenue-sharing model derived from reserve earnings distributed among participating businesses. Key players like Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase are among the foundational members of Open Standard, the organization behind OUSD.
Key Takeaways
- Over 140 companies, including major payment processors, banks, tech firms, and crypto exchanges, have joined the Open Standard initiative.
- The initiative will launch Open USD (OUSD), a stablecoin designed for widespread adoption in the global financial system.
- OUSD will offer fee-free minting and redemption for participating businesses.
- A core feature of OUSD is its revenue-sharing mechanism, distributing earnings from reserve assets to member companies.
- Governance of OUSD will be decentralized, managed by an independent organization with shared control among partners, avoiding a single issuer.
- Major companies like Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard have publicly endorsed the initiative, signaling strong industry support.
Open Standard’s model proposes that participating businesses will integrate OUSD as a primary payment asset within their offerings. Beyond transactional use, these companies will receive technical and integration support and have the potential to generate revenue contingent on OUSD’s adoption. The governance structure is designed to be collaborative, with an independent organization overseeing the stablecoin, ensuring shared decision-making among its partners rather than centralized control by a single entity.
The breadth of support is notable, with participation confirmed from prominent payment networks including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Financial institutions such as BlackRock, BNY Mellon, and Standard Chartered, alongside technology giants like Google, Shopify, and IBM, have also joined. The cryptocurrency sector is represented by firms like Coinbase, Bybit, OKX, MetaMask, Ripple, and Galaxy Digital, indicating a comprehensive industry coalition.
Visa is joining Open Standard alongside Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, U.S. Bank, BBVA, Standard Chartered and 100-plus initial partners with the mission of issuing Open USD, a shared stablecoin designed for the global financial system.
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, highlighted the collaborative mission on X. Complementary endorsements came from Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, Jorn Lambert, who emphasized the importance of shared, interoperable infrastructure for stablecoin integration, and Stripe’s President of Technology and Business, Will Gaybrick, who stated OUSD’s ambition to become the default stablecoin for Stripe users.
Tempo, a payment network, has also announced its role, with CEO Matt Huang stating that OUSD will be “natively issued on its network from day one.” Tempo plans to support payments, liquidity provision, exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) functionalities. The specifics regarding Tempo’s potential exclusivity as the native issuance network at launch have not yet been detailed by Open Standard.
Potential Regulatory Precedent and Legal Frameworks
The establishment of Open USD and its collaborative governance model presents an intriguing case study for global regulatory bodies. The decentralized management structure, while innovative for industry collaboration, could prompt scrutiny regarding accountability and compliance, particularly concerning anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Unlike stablecoins with a single, identifiable issuer, OUSD’s distributed governance may pose challenges for regulators seeking to assign responsibility. This structure might serve as a test for how existing frameworks, such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which imposes specific requirements on stablecoin issuers, could be applied or adapted to multi-stakeholder models.
The involvement of major traditional financial and payment entities suggests an effort to align OUSD with existing financial infrastructure, potentially aiming for a degree of regulatory compliance from the outset. However, the sharing of reserve revenue, a novel aspect, could also attract attention from securities regulators if deemed to constitute a form of investment contract. The success and regulatory reception of OUSD could set a precedent for future decentralized stablecoin initiatives, influencing how similar projects approach compliance, governance, and issuer identification in a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.
Information compiled from materials : www.theblock.co