Key Highlights
- Open Standard has introduced Open USD, a new stablecoin designed for large-scale global money movement.
- More than 140 firms, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Coinbase, Ripple and Bybit, have signed up to use Open USD.
- The stablecoin will offer no-cost minting and redemption, reserve earnings for partners and governance through an independent partner-led structure.
Open Standard has introduced Open USD, a new stablecoin backed by more than 140 firms across payments, banking, fintech and crypto, including Google, BlackRock and Coinbase.
The project is being pitched as infrastructure for global money movement, with no-cost minting and redemption, reserve earnings shared with partners and governance handled through an independent partner-led structure.
Open USD is being positioned as an enterprise-focused stablecoin, not just another trading asset. According to the announcement, businesses will be able to mint and redeem Open USD at no cost and without artificial limits on volume.
BlackRock said stablecoins could play a larger role in digital markets if supported by trusted infrastructure and real-world use cases.
“We believe stablecoins can play an important role in the evolution of digital markets when supported by trusted infrastructure and practical utility. Open USD is a constructive step toward giving businesses more choice in how they access tokenized value and participate in internet native digital rails.” said Samara Cohen, Global Head of Market Development
The list includes Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, Google, Samsung, Shopify, Coinbase, Bybit, Ripple, Crypto.com, Fireblocks, MetaMask and Polygon, among others.
Open Standard said partners will receive all earnings from Open USD’s reserves, minus a small management fee. That makes the model different from several existing stablecoin structures where issuers keep most of the reserve income.
Open USD will be operated by Open Standard, an independent company with a board made up of Open USD partners. The company said the goal is to prevent one issuer from controlling decisions alone.
Why Open USD Matters
The launch comes as stablecoins are moving from crypto trading into payment infrastructure. Visa said in April that its stablecoin settlement pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate after adding more blockchain networks.
Stripe has also been pushing deeper into stablecoin infrastructure. Its Bridge unit introduced Open Issuance in 2025, allowing businesses to launch and manage their own stablecoins, mint and burn without limits, and participate in reserve rewards.
That makes Open USD part of a broader industry shift: large payment firms, banks and crypto companies are no longer only experimenting with stablecoins. They are trying to build shared infrastructure around them.
For businesses, the biggest pitch is cost. Cross-border transfers, card settlement, remittances and treasury movement still involve banking hours, intermediaries and fees. Open USD is trying to sell stablecoins as a faster settlement layer for companies that already move large volumes of money.
Coinbase also framed Open USD as part of a broader push to improve payments infrastructure.
“Stablecoins are the most important thing happening in payments right now, and we’re committed to giving our customers access to the best options available – including Open USD and beyond. The more great infrastructure this industry builds together, the faster we close the gap between what payments are today and what they should be.” said Shan Aggarwal, Chief Business Officer.
Open USD Will Go Live Later This Year
Open Standard said Open USD will go live later this year. The announcement did not provide a launch date, blockchain deployment details, reserve custodian structure or regulatory filing information.
That leaves the main unanswered question: whether Open USD can turn a long partner list into real transaction volume.
For now, the headline is clear. Stablecoins are no longer being pushed only by crypto-native firms. Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google and Coinbase are now attached to a new stablecoin project that wants to make dollar-backed tokens part of mainstream business payments.
Also Read: BIS Warns Stablecoins Fuel Dollarization and Threaten National Banks
