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A stablecoin backed by more than 140 of the world's largest payment, banking, and technology companies launched today.
Open Standard announced Open USD, a new business-friendly stablecoin built for global money movement, with Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, Coinbase, and Western Union among its founding partners.
The consortium spans payments networks, banks, fintechs, and crypto infrastructure providers in a single launch, making it the broadest cross-industry stablecoin alliance announced in 2026.
As covered in our top new stablecoins guide, Open USD enters a market already crowded with bank-issued and consortium-backed stablecoins, but its zero-fee structure and partner-owned governance model distinguish it from every other 2026 launch.
Key Takeaways
- Open Standard announced Open USD on June 30, 2026, backed by over 140 partners including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, Coinbase, Ripple, and Western Union, spanning payments, banking, fintech, and crypto.
- Open USD charges zero fees to mint and redeem with no volume caps, and shares nearly all reserve earnings with partners after a small management fee, a structurally different economic model than issuer-captured reserve yield used by most stablecoins.
- Open USD is governed by Open Standard, an independent company with a board made up of partner businesses rather than a single controlling entity, and will launch later in 2026 with native support on Plasma and Tempo.
What Open USD Is and How It Works
Open USD is built around three design principles. The first is building for scale: businesses can mint and redeem Open USD at no cost with no artificial volume limits, addressing what Open Standard's founding team identified as a key barrier to enterprise stablecoin adoption.
The second principle is earning by default. Partners receive nearly all reserve earnings on Open USD, minus a small management fee covering Open Standard's operational costs.
As covered in our top new stablecoins guide, this model mirrors USDG's yield-sharing structure from the Global Dollar Network, but at a significantly larger partner scale spanning 140 plus companies rather than a small consortium.
The third principle is collaborative governance. Open USD is operated by Open Standard, an independent entity with a board composed of partner businesses rather than controlled by a single issuer.
Zach Abrams, Open Standard's founding CEO, said businesses need something open, low-cost, high-throughput, and aligned to their interests to use stablecoins at scale, and that Open USD was designed by the businesses growing it.
Who Is Backing Open USD
The partner list spans every major category of the stablecoin ecosystem. Payment networks and processors include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Fiserv, Adyen, and Western Union. Banks include BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS, U.S. Bank, BBVA, SoFi, and Mizuho Financial Group.
Technology and commerce platforms include Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify, DoorDash, and Grab. Crypto and stablecoin infrastructure companies include Coinbase, Ripple, Fireblocks, Bitso, Bridge, Zero Hash, Yellow Card, Anchorage Digital, and Plasma.
As covered in our Zero Hash review, Zero Hash's participation alongside Fireblocks and Bridge confirms that the leading institutional infrastructure platforms in the category are aligning around shared rails rather than competing issuance models.
The executive quotes accompanying the launch reveal the commercial logic each partner sees in joining. BlackRock's Samara Cohen called Open USD a constructive step toward giving businesses more choice in tokenized value access.
Stripe's Will Gaybrick said Open USD will be the default stablecoin for businesses running on Stripe. Visa's Jack Forestell framed the company's role as bringing the same risk standards and operational rigor it applies to its global network to Open USD's trust layer.
Why a 140-Partner Consortium Stablecoin Matters Now
Open USD's launch arrives during the most active stablecoin issuance period in the category's history.
As covered in our top companies building with stablecoins guide, banks, fintechs, and payment networks have spent 2026 launching branded and consortium stablecoins independently rather than coordinating around shared infrastructure.
Open USD represents the opposite approach: instead of dozens of separate issuance efforts, the largest companies across competing industries are pooling into a single shared rail.
Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov described joining Open Standard as a signal that the industry is consolidating around shared, regulated infrastructure rather than building it in silos.
That framing matters commercially because Fireblocks already settles a meaningful share of global stablecoin volume for banks and payment networks, giving its endorsement particular weight among infrastructure providers evaluating which rails to support.
As covered in our GENIUS Act final rules analysis, the regulatory clarity created by the GENIUS Act's July 18 deadline has made large-scale institutional coordination on shared stablecoin infrastructure commercially viable for the first time, reducing the legal risk that previously made competing companies hesitant to align around a single non-proprietary rail.
Conclusion
Open USD's launch with 140 plus partners spanning Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, Coinbase, and Western Union is the broadest cross-industry stablecoin alliance announced in 2026.
Its zero-fee, partner-owned economic model represents a structural departure from the issuer-captured reserve yield that defines most stablecoins in circulation today.
The combination of payment networks, banks, fintechs, and crypto infrastructure providers committing to the same rail simultaneously signals that the industry views shared infrastructure as more commercially valuable than competing proprietary issuance.
As covered in our top stablecoin orchestration platforms guide, Open USD's planned native support on Plasma and Tempo, alongside its governance structure independent of any single partner, will determine whether the consortium model can scale to match the commercial momentum that single-issuer stablecoins like USDC and USDT have already built when it launches later in 2026.
FAQ:
1. What is Open USD and who announced it?
Open USD is a stablecoin announced on June 30, 2026 by Open Standard, an independent company backed by over 140 partner businesses including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, Coinbase, and Western Union, designed for business-friendly global money movement with zero mint and redeem fees.
2. How does Open USD's fee structure differ from other stablecoins?
Open USD charges zero fees to mint and redeem with no volume caps and shares nearly all reserve earnings with partners minus a small management fee, while most stablecoins charge fees on issuance or redemption and the issuer typically captures reserve yield rather than sharing it broadly with partners.
3. What is the difference between Open USD's governance and traditional stablecoin issuer governance?
The difference is that Open USD is governed by Open Standard, an independent entity with a board made up of partner businesses ensuring collective decision-making, while traditional stablecoins like USDC and USDT are controlled by a single issuing company that makes decisions independently.
4. When will Open USD launch and which blockchains will it support?
Open USD is planned to launch later in 2026 with native support on Plasma and Tempo, two blockchain networks that are also founding partners in the Open Standard consortium.
5. Why did Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and BlackRock join Open USD together?
Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and BlackRock joined Open USD because the consortium offers a shared, neutral stablecoin rail rather than requiring each company to build or back competing proprietary stablecoins, and executives from each company cited the value of open, interoperable infrastructure built collectively rather than controlled by any single entity.
Disclaimer:
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice; no material herein should be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument, and readers should conduct their own independent research or consult a qualified professional.
