Open USD enters market with shared ownership model

Open USD, a dollar-backed stablecoin supported by major payments, technology and cryptocurrency companies, has gone live with a model that distributes reserve income and ownership to businesses that help expand its use.

The stablecoin began operating on Wednesday across Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo, according to Open Standard, the independent company behind the project. Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are its founding partners and investors, and together have committed more than $1 billion to establish Open USD liquidity.

Open Standard chief executive Zach Abrams said the company intends to distribute the “overwhelming majority” of its equity over time to founding and other participating partners according to their contribution to supply and transaction activity. The structure is designed to distinguish Open USD, or OUSD, from established stablecoins whose issuers retain reserve earnings.

The approach places distribution at the centre of Open Standard’s business model. Partners that meet a minimum threshold will be able to earn equity through a combination of the OUSD supply they generate and transactions they facilitate, rewarding both circulation and use. Open Standard has not disclosed the qualifying threshold.

Founding partners have received equal initial equity stakes. Abrams said the founding group could eventually expand to about 10 to 12 companies, while a board drawn from founders is planned.

Open Standard says nearly all revenue generated by the assets backing OUSD will be returned to participating companies, after a small management fee covering operational costs. Businesses can also mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees, addressing costs that can become significant for institutions moving large amounts between currencies and digital dollars.

Abrams has framed the strategy around making OUSD useful for payments and financial infrastructure rather than maximising the amount of reserve assets held by the issuer. He said Open Standard is targeting banking, cross-border payments, card settlement, institutional trading and lending, areas where blockchain settlement could move money and collateral outside banking hours.

“We want to be the most useful stablecoin, the same way the U. S. dollar is useful,” Abrams said. Contrasting the project with rival models, he added: “Every other stablecoin is building a fund. We’re building money.”

The launch places Open USD against a stablecoin market exceeding $300 billion, where Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC remain dominant. USDT has about $143 billion in circulation and USDC roughly $74 billion, leaving Open Standard to demonstrate that a broad network of distributors can translate corporate backing into liquidity and payment activity.

Open Standard’s partner network has expanded beyond the more than 140 companies announced when OUSD was unveiled in June to more than 200, Abrams said. The wider group includes businesses spanning banking, payments, crypto and technology, while UBS, SBI Holdings of Japan and fintech company Jeeves are among additions.

The distinction between partners and owners is significant. Abrams said Open Standard is not governed as a committee of hundreds of companies. Its management will operate the business, while a smaller set of founders will hold ownership and governance roles. Other participating businesses can become economically aligned through reserve rewards and equity earned from contributions.

The model also differs from arrangements under which stablecoin issuers earn interest on cash and securities held as reserves and selectively share revenue with large distribution partners. Open Standard is making that sharing mechanism a core feature available across its participating network, with founders subject to the same reward framework rather than receiving a separate entitlement.

Abrams previously co-founded Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2024, and has moved to lead Open Standard full time. Open Standard said last week that its initial five founding partners were investing in the company and helping establish more than $1 billion in near-term launch liquidity.