Open USD Launches: A New Stablecoin for Global Payments
On June 30, 2026, Open Standard, a stablecoin alliance, announced the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin focused on global money movement. Stablecoins have been rapidly adopted due to their speed, low cost, and programmability, with transaction volumes approaching those of the ACH network. However, businesses still face significant hurdles when using existing stablecoins at scale: high minting and redemption fees, inability to benefit from reserve earnings, and misalignment with third-party issuers' roadmaps. Open USD is designed to address these pain points.
Three Core Design Principles
Open USD introduces three key design principles: Built 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, minus a small management fee for operational costs; Govern collaboratively – Open USD will be operated by Open Standard, whose board consists of Open USD partners, ensuring decisions serve the collective interest.
Zach Abrams, founding CEO of Open Standard, stated: “Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests. We're thrilled to bring together over 140 businesses to launch Open USD – a stablecoin built for the internet economy, designed by the businesses growing it.”
Stellar Partner Lineup Covers Payments, Banking, Tech, and Crypto
The businesses signed up to use Open USD span payment networks, banks, tech giants, and crypto platforms:
Payments & Financial Infrastructure: Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Fiserv, Adyen, 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, and others.
Banks & Financial Institutions: BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Intercontinental Exchange, National Australia Bank, DBS, 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 Group, 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, and others.
Technology & E-commerce: Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify, Mercado Libre, Mercado Pago, Infosys, DoorDash, Wix, Grab, Rakuten Group.
Crypto & Blockchain Infrastructure: Coinbase, Tempo, Bybit, Solana, 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, and others.
Industry Leaders Praise Open USD's Open and Collaborative Model
Several core partners expressed strong support for Open USD:
BBVA's Alicia Pertusa said: “By bringing stablecoins to our retail and corporate clients, we are fundamentally changing how money moves—making financial transactions frictionless and available 24/7.” BlackRock's Samara Cohen noted: “Stablecoins can play an important role in the evolution of digital markets when supported by trusted infrastructure and practical utility. Open USD is a constructive step toward giving businesses more choice.”
BNY's Carolyn Weinberg commented: “A stablecoin with neutral governance and shared economics is a unique combination that has potential to unlock the next phase of digital assets growth. We anticipate stablecoins alone may grow to $1.5 trillion by 2030.” Chime's Chris Britt emphasized: “Open USD helps create that foundation, and Chime is proud to join industry leaders in building the next generation of money movement.”
Coinbase's Shan Aggarwal called stablecoins “the most important thing happening in payments right now.” DoorDash's Andy Fang highlighted: “Open USD is genuinely open: no single company controls it, and the partners building on it have a seat at the table.” Visa's Jack Forestell added: “In payments, scale only comes with trust. Visa is bringing the same discipline, risk standards, and operational rigor to Open USD.”
Future Outlook: Open USD to Go Live Later This Year
Open USD is planned for launch in the second half of 2026. Open Standard invites additional enterprises to join the ecosystem. With over 140 businesses already committed, Open USD aims to become a critical infrastructure for the internet economy, accelerating stablecoin adoption from experimentation to large-scale commercial use.