A powerful consortium including Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase launched a new joint venture on Tuesday to accelerate stablecoin adoption. The initiative, called Open Standard, unites more than 140 businesses.
The network will issue a U.S.-dollar pegged digital token, Open USD, expected to go live later this year. Founding CEO Zach Abrams stated that current stablecoins have strengths, but scaling requires an open, low-cost, and high-throughput solution aligned with business interests.
The venture allows businesses to mint and redeem Open USD without cost or volume limits. Earnings from the token's reserves will be shared among partners, minus an operational management fee.
This launch follows the signing of the GENIUS Act by U.S. President Donald Trump, which established federal guidelines for stablecoins. While experts anticipated the law would mainstream digital payments, stablecoins remain primarily a tool for crypto trading. BNY’s Carolyn Weinberg noted that a neutral governance model with shared economics could unlock the next phase of digital asset growth.