A consortium backed by more than 100 companies, including Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Stripe and Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA), launched a new U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Wednesday, stepping up competition in a market dominated by Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and USDC (CRYPTO: USDC).
OUSD, issued by Open Standard, is now available to businesses and software developers, with Visa, Stripe, Mastercard-owned BVNK and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) providing initial access.
What Gives OUSD An Edge
The consortium along with Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP) have committed to minting roughly $1 billion worth of OUSD to seed liquidity, Bloomberg reported.
Open Standard CEO Zach Abrams, who previously headed stablecoin infrastructure company, Bridge before its acquisition by Stripe in 2025, said the project was designed to address limitations holding back broader stablecoin adoption.
OUSD is already live across four blockchains, including Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), with consortium members planning to integrate the stablecoin into their products.
The combination of payments networks, crypto infrastructure and commerce platforms could give OUSD a built-in distribution network as it attempts to gain traction.
Can OUSD Challenge USDT, USDC Dominance?
Despite growing institutional interest, breaking the dominance of Tether and USDC remains a significant challenge for new stablecoins.
USDT has roughly $184 billion in circulation, while even stablecoins introduced by established payments companies such as PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) remain considerably smaller.
Open Standard’s advantage could lie in its consortium model and distribution.
The project’s initial announcement in June drew investor attention and weighed on Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) shares amid concerns that stronger payments-industry competition could challenge USDC’s position.
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