Open Standard said on June 30 that Open USD, a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, is scheduled to launch in the coming months. The company said the project would involve more than 140 organizations across finance, payments, technology, and crypto. The published list included Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, and a wide range of Korean names such as Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, Shinhan Financial Group, KakaoBank, K Bank, Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, BC Card, Hana Card, Samsung Card, Woori Card, NH Nonghyup Card, and Hanwha.
That announcement was quickly followed by public responses from several Korean companies that said their involvement had not been finalized. Samsung Electronics said there had been no official talks with Open Standard and that it had no information about any future role in the consortium. Dunamu, Shinhan Financial Group, and K Bank issued similar statements, distancing themselves from the project. Those responses put the status of several names in the original announcement under scrutiny.
Companies say they were only approached for interest
According to company representatives cited in the report, they were contacted to see whether they had interest in the initiative. Some said they could review the proposal, but they stressed that such contact does not amount to approval and does not create an official partnership. The difference between being approached and being confirmed as a participant has become the center of the dispute.
Open Standard outlines how the stablecoin would work
Open Standard described Open USD as a utility-focused stablecoin that would be managed jointly by participating companies during development. The company also said the project would not operate as a DAO and would not use a profit-sharing partnership structure.
Under the proposed model, participants would mint Open USD by depositing US dollars into a reserve account. They could also return tokens to the issuing institution and redeem cash. Open Standard said no fees would be charged for these transactions and that there would be no limits on how many times users could perform them. In reserve-backed stablecoin systems, issuers generally aim to hold cash or similar assets matching the value of tokens in circulation.
Reserve income plan differs from USDT and USDC issuers
Open Standard said its revenue model would be tied to income generated from reserve assets. After operating costs are deducted, those earnings would be distributed among participating members. The report notes that this differs from the models used by Tether and Circle, where reserve-generated income is typically kept by the issuer.
Industry circles in South Korea see Open USD as a possible rival to USDT and USDC. Still, the immediate issue is not market share. It is whether the partnerships highlighted in the launch announcement are firm, preliminary, or still unresolved, as several listed companies have said the arrangements are not yet finalized.