Open Standard Consortium Launches Open USD Stablecoin With Over 140 Partners

Open Standard, a consortium of over 140 companies from various sectors including payments, banking, and crypto, has launched Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin designed to be owned and governed by its users rather than a single issuer. Unlike existing stablecoins like USDC and USDT, OUSD charges no fees for minting or redeeming and sets no volume caps.

The consortium includes notable partners such as Visa, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase, among others. Open Standard's CEO, Zach Abrams, stated that 'existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that's open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests.'

The launch of OUSD has raised questions about the future of Circle's USDC, which relies on retaining interest earned on its reserves. Coinbase's involvement in Open USD has also sparked concerns about its implications for the Centre Consortium and its commercial agreement with Circle.