Over 140 banking and tech giants team up to launch Open USD stablecoin

A consortium of over 140 major technology and financial institutions, including Visa, Stripe, and Google, has launched a new independent venture called Open Standard to introduce the Open USD stablecoin. Designed to facilitate global money movement, the initiative aims to challenge existing centralized token issuance models by offering zero-fee minting and a shared revenue structure for its partners. This move represents a significant shift in the fintech landscape as traditional banking giants and tech leaders collaborate on a unified digital asset infrastructure intended for the internet economy.

Open Standard, led by founding CEO and former Coinbase product lead Zach Abrams, is positioning Open USD as a stablecoin specifically engineered for the internet economy. The venture's operational model is built on three core principles: allowing partner businesses to mint and redeem the stablecoin without volume limits or costs, distributing reserve earnings back to participants after a minor management fee, and maintaining a collaborative governance structure. This governance is managed by an independent board composed of representatives from the partner organizations, ensuring a decentralized approach to decision-making compared to traditional stablecoin issuers.

The scale of the partnership is unprecedented, bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto sector. Notable backers from the banking and payments world include BlackRock, Standard Chartered, US Bank, American Express, BBVA, Visa, Mastercard, BNY, and Stripe. These institutions are joined by technology giants such as Google, Samsung, IBM, and Shopify, as well as prominent crypto-native firms like Coinbase, Ripple, and Solana. This broad coalition suggests a concerted effort to establish a new industry standard for digital currency that leverages the existing reach of global financial networks.

The practical implications for the fintech sector are highlighted by Stripe’s commitment to the project, with President of Technology and Business Will Gaybrick stating that Open USD will serve as the default stablecoin for businesses operating on the Stripe platform. By eliminating minting fees and sharing reserve profits, the Open Standard model incentivizes adoption among large-scale enterprises that currently rely on third-party stablecoin providers. The project is scheduled to go live later this year, potentially disrupting the current market dominance of centralized issuers by providing a more cost-effective and collaborative alternative for global liquidity.