Visa, Stripe, Mastercard-Backed Stablecoin 'Open USD' Launches

A coalition backed by financial heavyweights including Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard has officially launched a new U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, Open USD (OUSD). The move represents one of the most significant collective efforts by traditional finance firms to build foundational infrastructure in the digital currency space.

Launch and Institutional Backing

The stablecoin was developed by the Open Standard project and is now live for enterprise developers and institutions focused on internet-native financial services. According to the announcement, its primary use cases include banking, asset settlement, and cross-border transactions.

Initial deployment partners have committed to minting a total supply of approximately $1 billion to establish immediate liquidity. This group includes:

• Visa Inc. (NYSE: V)
• Stripe Inc.
• Mastercard's (NYSE: MA) BVNK
• Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN)
• Shopify (NYSE: SHOP)

Operational Framework

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Open USD is issued directly by Bridge, a subsidiary of Stripe, with its reserve assets managed by a group of established financial firms including BlackRock, Lead Bank, and BNY Mellon. The project plans to release public attestation reports of its reserves on a monthly basis to ensure transparency.

The stablecoin will operate natively on several major blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Tempo. It has secured initial trading support from prominent platforms such as Uniswap, Kraken, and Coinbase, ensuring early access and liquidity for users.

Market Context and Outlook

The launch of OUSD signals a clear intent from established payment networks to integrate stablecoin technology. This allows them to create more efficient, programmable, and lower-cost settlement rails that can operate outside of traditional clearing systems.

This development comes as U.S. federal policymakers are actively exploring regulatory frameworks to promote the use of dollar-backed digital assets internationally. However, Open Standard enters a highly concentrated market dominated by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, which together account for the vast majority of global stablecoin liquidity. To overcome adoption challenges faced by previous institutional entrants, OUSD plans to use a partner incentive model that shares platform revenue and equity with participating firms.