Open USD Launches: An Open Stablecoin for Global Commerce
On June 30, 2026, the stablecoin alliance Open Standard announced the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin built for global money movement. The initiative has already garnered support from over 140 enterprises, spanning payment giants (Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), financial institutions (BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, Commonwealth Bank of Australia), technology companies (Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify), and crypto-native firms (Coinbase, Bybit, Solana, Fireblocks). Zach Abrams, Founding CEO of Open Standard, stated that while existing stablecoins offer speed and programmability, businesses face prohibitive minting/redeeming fees at scale, cannot benefit from reserve earnings, and have little recourse if issuer roadmaps don't align. Open USD is designed to solve these problems.
The Stablecoin Opportunity and Pain Points
Stablecoins are rapidly adopted for their speed, cost, and programmability, with transaction volumes approaching those of the ACH network. However, businesses still face significant hurdles: fees to mint and redeem most stablecoins are prohibitively expensive at larger volumes; companies cannot always benefit from revenues earned on underlying reserves; and developers have little recourse if third-party issuer roadmaps do not meet their needs. Open Standard believes that unlocking stablecoins' full potential requires an infrastructure that is open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned with user interests.
Three Core Design Principles
Open USD is built around three key principles: Build for scale — businesses can mint and redeem Open USD at no cost with no artificial volume limits; Earn by default — partners receive all earnings from Open USD's reserves, less a small management fee covering operational costs; Govern collaboratively — Open USD will be operated by Open Standard, an independent company whose board is composed of Open USD partners, ensuring decisions serve the collective interest rather than a single entity. BlackRock's Samara Cohen called this neutral governance with shared economics a unique combination to unlock the next phase of digital asset growth. BNY's Carolyn Weinberg noted that stablecoins alone may grow to $1.5 trillion by 2030 and expressed eagerness to explore supporting Open USD.
Extensive Partner Ecosystem
Open USD's early adopters cover major players across payments, banking, technology, and crypto:
- Payments & Fintech: Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Fiserv, Adyen, Cloudflare, Corpay, Jack Henry, Klarna, Affirm, Ramp, OnePay, Brex, Checkout.com, WEX, PayPay Corporation, Western Union, Nuvei, Remitly, Ria, Marqeta, MoneyGram, Nium, Worldline, Galileo, Highnote, i2C, Lithic, Thredd, Episode Six, Verituity, Félix, Taptap Send, CAL (Israel Credit Cards)
- Banks & Financial Institutions: BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Intercontinental Exchange, National Australia Bank, DBS Bank Ltd., U.S. Bank, BBVA, Mizuho Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Westpac, Itaú, OCBC, ANZ, UOB, Chime, Banco Bradesco, Huntington Bank, Citizens Bank, KB Kookmin Card, Emirates NBD, Hanwha Life, Banorte, Bank Hapoalim, FNB South Africa, K Bank, SoFi, Woori Card, Absa, Kakao Bank, Samsung Card, Bank Leumi, Wenia by Grupo Cibest, Nedbank, Isbank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB, Banco de Crédito del Perú, Mashreq, RAK Bank, Hana Card, Hyundai Card, BCcard, Cross River, Grupo Aval, Davivienda, The Bancorp, Pathward, Banca Transilvania, Nonghyup Card, Neo Financial, Maya Bank, Netbank, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, Lead Bank, Kapital, MAX
- Technology & Platforms: Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify, Mercado Libre, Mercado Pago, Infosys, DoorDash, Wix, Grab, Rakuten Group
- Crypto & Blockchain: Coinbase, Tempo, Bybit, Solana, Base, OKX, Ripple, Crypto.com, Fireblocks, Gemini, MetaMask, Aave, eToro, Galaxy, Dunamu, Ledger, MoonPay, Anchorage Digital, Digital Asset, Trust Wallet, Meow, Morpho, Ether.Fi, Lightspark, zerohash, Bitso, Bridge, Rain, BVNK, Mesh, Privy, Bitget Wallet, StraitsX, Yellow Card, Reap, Brale, RedotPay, Immersve, Stellar, Polygon, Aptos Labs, Plasma, KAST, Blossom, Lemon
Industry Leader Endorsements: Trust, Governance, Scale
Key executives voiced strong support. Visa's Jack Forestell emphasized that scale comes only with trust, and Visa will bring its risk standards and operational rigor to Open USD to build the trust layer for stablecoins within the broader financial system. Stripe's Will Gaybrick announced that Open USD will be the default stablecoin for businesses on Stripe, shaping the next 15 years of economic growth. Coinbase's Shan Aggarwal called stablecoins the most important thing in payments and committed to giving customers access to Open USD. Mastercard's Jorn Lambert compared Open Standard to the shared infrastructure of the internet and mobile networks. Chime's Chris Britt said stablecoins are a breakthrough technology needing a common framework, and Chime is proud to join in building the next generation of money movement. Fireblocks' Michael Shaulov noted that Fireblocks already settles a meaningful share of global stablecoin volume, and joining Open Standard signals industry consolidation around shared regulated infrastructure.
Launch Timeline and Future Outlook
Open USD will go live later this year. Currently, over 140 businesses have signed up to use it across remittances, merchant payments, B2B settlements, and on-chain finance. Open Standard aims to make Open USD the infrastructure for the internet economy, designed by the businesses growing it. With the stablecoin market projected to grow from approximately $0.5 trillion to $1.5 trillion by 2030, Open USD's open governance and economic model could set a new industry standard for institutional-grade stablecoins.