Coinbase, Visa Downplay OpenUSD Threat to USDC
The emergence of OpenUSD (OUSD) has sent shockwaves through the stablecoin market, wiping out tens of trillions of won from Circle's valuation. In response to growing anxiety, major backers of OpenUSD have insisted that it is 'not a USDC replacement.'
Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas stated during last week's second-quarter earnings call that the company has already met the conditions for renewing its agreement with Circle and will continue to expand the USDC ecosystem going forward. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also characterized the company as a 'multi-stablecoin platform' that supports Tether's USDT and PayPal's PYUSD in addition to USDC.
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney took a similar stance, defining Visa as a 'multi-coin, multi-chain' company. He emphasized that 'our role is not to pick winners but to help connect customers regardless of which stablecoin they adopt.'
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach also weighed in, noting that Mastercard supports multiple stablecoins, including USDC and the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network (USDG). He stated that OpenUSD 'is just another coin we will support on our network,' adding that 'choice has always been a key criterion in stablecoins as well.'