OUSD Stablecoin Launches, Challenging Tether and Circle's Dominance
A new player has entered the dollar stablecoin market, challenging the dominance of Tether and Circle. Open Standard's OUSD (Open USD) has launched, backed by direct investment from global companies including Visa and Coinbase. South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and Dunamu are among its partner network.
OUSD is a stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar, issued on four blockchains: Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Tempo. The issuer of OUSD is Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary, and reserve assets are held at BlackRock, BNY, and Lead Bank.
Five founding partners invested directly in Open Standard: Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa. Each received an equal initial stake, with individual investment amounts and ownership ratios not disclosed. The five companies have pledged to commit more than $1 billion in total over the coming months to build OUSD liquidity.
What sets OUSD apart is a structure that distributes economic benefits according to partner contribution. Partners can earn rewards based on the OUSD supply they generate on their platforms and on transaction activity. Those that meet certain thresholds are also given an opportunity to receive equity in Open Standard.