New Stablecoin OUSD Launches to Challenge Tether and Circle

A powerful group of financial giants has just launched a new digital dollar aiming to shake up the stablecoin world.

What is a stablecoin? It's a type of cryptocurrency (digital money) designed to always be worth about $1. It stays stable because it's backed by real cash and safe investments, unlike Bitcoin whose price jumps around wildly.

On Wednesday, a company called Open Standard launched its stablecoin, Open USD (OUSD). It's backed by huge names in payments and finance, and it's trying to compete with the two dominant players in the market.

The current leaders:

• Tether (USDT) — about $143 billion in circulation
• Circle (USDC) — about $74 billion in circulation
• The total stablecoin market is worth over $300 billion

Who is behind Open USD? The five "founding partners" (companies that own and help run it) are:

• Coinbase (a crypto exchange)
• Mastercard and Visa (card payment giants)
• Stripe (an online payments company)
• Shopify (an e-commerce platform)

Together they've committed over $1 billion to get OUSD started. The wider partner network has grown to more than 200 companies, now including Swiss bank UBS and Japan's SBI Holdings.

What makes it different? Normally, a stablecoin issuer keeps most of the profits (they earn interest on the cash backing the coins). Open Standard instead plans to give away the "overwhelming majority" of its ownership (equity) over 4-5 years to partners — based on how much they help the coin grow and get used.

CEO Zach Abrams summed up the goal simply: *"Every other stablecoin is building a fund. We're building money."* His vision is for OUSD to quietly become part of everyday life — even ending up in "your mom's bank account."

The bottom line: Open USD faces a tough uphill battle against Tether and Circle. But with big-name backers and a reward-sharing model, it hopes to win over the companies that actually move money around the world.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/24/open-usd-takes-on-tether-circle-with-a-different-stablecoin-model-that-s-building-money