Open USD stablecoin draws Visa, Stripe, Coinbase backing

Open USD stablecoin has drawn over 140 supporters, including Visa, Stripe and Coinbase, before its planned launch later in 2026.

The project, known as OUSD, is being organized through Open Standard and is pitched as a neutral payment asset for businesses. Its backers include Mastercard, BlackRock, American Express, Google, Shopify, IBM and Ripple, according to the project description.

OUSD ties reserves to usage

The central design choice is economic: OUSD is expected to share most earnings from its reserves with participating businesses, after a small management fee. That makes the model different from a conventional single-issuer stablecoin, where reserve income is generally controlled by one issuing company.

Open Standard also plans shared governance through an independent organization. For companies that already handle payments, commerce infrastructure or crypto services, that structure offers a way to participate in stablecoin adoption without depending entirely on a single issuer's balance sheet or commercial agenda.

The initiative says businesses will be able to mint and redeem OUSD without fees or volume limits. If implemented as described, that could lower operational friction for firms that want a dollar-linked settlement asset but are cautious about transaction costs and liquidity bottlenecks.

Payments firms meet crypto rails

The supporter list is unusually broad for a stablecoin project. It spans card networks, payment processors, asset managers, technology platforms, e-commerce companies and crypto-native firms, putting OUSD at the intersection of mainstream financial infrastructure and blockchain settlement.

That breadth matters because stablecoins rely on distribution as much as design. A token with many high-profile supporters can still struggle if those companies do not route actual payment flows through it, integrate it into customer products or support redemption at scale.

The effort also arrives during a weaker stretch for crypto markets. Bitcoin was trading below $60,000 as June closed, with net outflows from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds described as the worst month since those funds launched in 2024.

That backdrop cuts two ways. Softer crypto sentiment can slow appetite for new digital-asset products, but it can also push attention toward payment and settlement use cases that are less dependent on speculative trading cycles.

Tempo network enters launch plans

Tempo CEO Matt Huang said Open USD will be "natively issued on its network from day one," according to the source material. The project description did not clarify whether OUSD will launch only on Tempo or whether other networks will also support issuance.

That is one of the main operational questions. A single-network launch could simplify early coordination and technical support, while a broader rollout could increase reach but add complexity around liquidity, security and governance.

OUSD is not the first attempt to build a collaborative stablecoin around multiple institutions. The Global Dollar Network and USDG have followed a related idea, but Open Standard's announced roster gives this effort a more visibly cross-sector profile.

Reserve revenue faces adoption test

The path forward depends on whether membership turns into usage. If large payments and commerce companies actively support OUSD in their products, reserve earnings could scale with circulation, giving Open Standard's revenue-sharing mechanism real commercial weight.

If support remains mostly symbolic, the project may find that governance design and fee-free minting are not enough to dislodge existing stablecoin habits. For the wider sector, that would reinforce a familiar lesson: liquidity and integrations matter more than sponsor lists.

For global payments, the strongest case is practical rather than promotional. If OUSD becomes a trusted settlement asset across major platforms, it could add another dollar-linked rail for business transactions; if adoption stalls, single-issuer stablecoins will keep their lead while institutions test slower, narrower partnerships.