Open USD Stablecoin Goes Live with Over $1 Billion Liquidity Commitment

Open USD (OUSD), a dollar-backed stablecoin backed by major players like Coinbase and Mastercard, went live on September 30. The token was initially announced in June, causing Circle's share price to drop by around 17%. However, some confusion arose when users tried searching for OUSD on crypto price trackers.

The issue lies with the fact that there is another token called Origin Dollar (OUSd) that has been using the same ticker since 2020. This older token earns its yield by deploying deposits into DeFi strategies and has a much smaller market capitalization of around $6.1 million, compared to OUSD's expected liquidity commitment of over $1 billion.

Open USD is designed as shared payment infrastructure for businesses, with the interest earned on its reserves going to the companies that distribute it rather than the issuer. The token has been integrated into four platforms: Stripe, Visa Stablecoin Platform, Mastercard-owned BVNK, and Coinbase, which will open its integration on October 1.

Despite some uncertainty surrounding OUSD's launch, Open Standard, the company behind the network, claims to have over 200 partners, including UBS and Japan's SBI Holdings. However, this number is disputed, as some companies listed as partners, such as Samsung, have denied any formal agreement to participate.