Coinbase, Visa, and Mastercard are backing a new stablecoin push with the unveiling of Open USD from the Open Standard consortium.
This is not just another dollar token. The group is positioning Open USD as infrastructure for moving money, with more than 140 companies in the consortium. Businesses will be able to mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees, even at large scale, and partners will share earnings on the reserves after a management fee.
That makes the model different from dominant stablecoins, where one issuer usually controls the token, the reserve pool, and the economics around issuance. What stands out here is the mix of Coinbase’s reach in crypto-native payments and settlement flows with support from major payments names including Visa and Mastercard.
The project’s shared structure also means Open USD is being framed as consortium-backed infrastructure rather than a token controlled by a single company. The bigger test is still ahead: Open USD is expected to go live later this year, and it remains to be seen whether enterprise users will shift volume away from established options like USDT and USDC.
For now, Open USD signals that stablecoin competition is expanding beyond the token itself and toward the economics and structure behind payment networks.