Circle shares dropped sharply on Tuesday after a coalition of more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock, unveiled a rival stablecoin called Open USD. The stock fell to a four-month low near $65, down roughly 13% on the day and off as much as 17% at its intraday bottom, as investors weighed the threat to Circle’s USDC franchise. Open USD, or OUSD, will be issued by a new independent company called Open Standard and is designed so that partners, not a single issuer, share in the revenue the reserves generate, according to The Block.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset such as the US dollar, holding cash and short-term securities in reserve so its price stays near $1. That reserve is where the money is: on tens of billions of dollars in Treasuries, the yield adds up, and today Circle keeps most of it.
Key takeaways
- More than 140 firms across payments, banking, big tech and crypto have joined Open Standard to launch Open USD, a shared-governance stablecoin.
- Circle stock fell to a four-month low near $65, down about 13% and as much as 17% intraday, on fears Open USD will erode USDC’s roughly $73 billion market.
- Businesses can mint and redeem Open USD for free with no volume caps, and reserve income is distributed to partners after a management fee.
- Open Standard is led by Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge, the stablecoin firm Stripe acquired in 2024. OUSD is expected to launch later this year.
Published: July 1, 2026, 09:00 UTC
What Open USD changes about the stablecoin business
The core of Open USD is not the token, it is the ownership model. Circle earns almost all of its revenue from interest on the reserves backing USDC, and it pays Coinbase a large cut for distribution. Open Standard flips that structure by pooling more than 140 partners into shared governance and returning most reserve income to the businesses that actually move the money.
Open Standard said companies can mint and redeem OUSD without fees or volume limits, and will earn revenue based on how much adoption they drive. Governance sits with an independent organization rather than one company, a direct contrast to Circle’s issuer-controlled model. The founding lineup spans Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover on the payments side, BlackRock, BNY and Standard Chartered in finance, Google, Shopify and IBM in technology, and Coinbase, Ripple, Solana, Polygon and Aave across crypto.
Leadership is a signal in itself. Open Standard is run by Zach Abrams, who co-founded Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company Stripe bought in 2024. Tempo CEO Matt Huang said OUSD will be natively issued on Tempo’s blockchain from day one, with support for payments, liquidity, exchanges and DeFi. Open Standard has not confirmed whether Tempo will be the sole network for native issuance at launch.
Why the market punished Circle
USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, with a market value of about $73 billion, and Circle has positioned it as the compliant option for banks, payment firms and asset managers. That institutional base is exactly what Open USD is targeting, and it is the same base rivals like Ripple’s RLUSD are chasing. When the same institutions Circle courts as partners instead back a competing token they collectively own, the distribution advantage that underpins USDC’s value looks less secure.
The revenue-sharing pitch also pressures Circle’s economics. If a merchant or bank can earn a slice of reserve yield by using Open USD, the incentive to route dollars through USDC weakens. Investors read the coalition as a structural challenge, not a marketing launch, which is why the stock reaction was severe rather than symbolic.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire downplayed the threat. “Stablecoins represent one of the largest market opportunities in the world as the internet transforms the infrastructure for storing and moving money,” he wrote on X, adding that Circle welcomes “continued innovation and competition in the space.” The stablecoin market has grown quickly, and a larger overall pie could offset share lost to new entrants.
The regulatory backdrop
Timing matters. Federal regulators face a July 18, 2026 deadline to issue implementing rules for the GENIUS Act, the US law that sets a federal framework for payment stablecoins. A clearer rulebook lowers the legal risk of launching a new dollar token, which helps explain why a bank- and tech-heavy consortium felt comfortable committing now, even as regulators abroad revisit their own rules, such as the Bank of England’s move on stablecoin caps. Open USD is expected to go live later this year, after those rules take shape.
Frequently asked questions
What is Open USD?
Open USD, or OUSD, is a US dollar stablecoin launched by Open Standard, an independent company backed by more than 140 firms including Visa, Coinbase and BlackRock. It shares most reserve earnings with partners and is governed collectively rather than by a single issuer.
Why did Circle stock fall?
Circle earns most of its revenue from USDC reserves. Open USD targets the same institutional users and lets partners share in reserve income, so investors fear it could erode USDC’s roughly $73 billion market. The stock hit a four-month low near $65.
When does Open USD launch?
Open Standard says Open USD is expected to launch later in 2026. Tempo has said the token will be natively issued on its blockchain from day one, though the group has not confirmed whether that will be the only network at launch.
