Open USD Expands Stablecoin Competition With Consortium Model

Open USD Enters Stablecoin Market With Revenue-Sharing Model – Competition Expands Beyond Issuance to Distribution and Payments

Key Takeaways

Open USD launches with a consortium of more than 140 participants, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock.
Stablecoin supply exceeds 300 billion USD, while payment use reached an estimated 390 billion USD in 2025, more than double the previous year.
Open USD links token distribution to reserve income, allowing partners to receive a share of earnings.
Dollar stablecoins continue to dominate liquidity, while local-currency coins expand in domestic settlement markets.
Regulatory frameworks such as MiCA in the EU are reshaping issuance and distribution across 27 member states.

Open USD Combines Distribution and Reserve Income

The global stablecoin market is entering a new phase of competition as Open USD begins operations with a consortium structure that includes more than 140 participants. Among them are payment networks Visa and Mastercard, payment processor Stripe, crypto exchange Coinbase, and asset manager BlackRock.

Stablecoin supply now exceeds 300 billion USD. Payment usage reached an estimated 390 billion USD in 2025, more than twice the level recorded the previous year. As volumes grow, competition is increasingly shaped by distribution channels, liquidity depth, reserve management, and access to payment networks rather than issuance alone.

Open USD introduces a revenue-sharing model that distributes reserve earnings among consortium members. Participating companies can integrate the asset into exchanges, wallets, merchant services, and payment products while receiving a share of income generated from reserves. According to Louisa Bai, Head of Stablecoins at Mysten Labs, the model is designed to align incentives across payment companies, exchanges, and blockchain networks.

This structure positions Open USD against established issuers whose advantage is built on years of exchange listings, deep liquidity, and widespread trading pairs. Bai stated that mid-sized issuers face particular pressure because they lack both the liquidity of leading dollar coins and the partner-based revenue incentives offered by Open USD.

Governance and Infrastructure Shape Adoption Prospects

The Open USD consortium brings together banks, payment companies, exchanges, and crypto firms with different commercial priorities. Decisions on reserves, governance, supported networks, and distribution require coordination across these participants.

Visa has announced the launch of the Visa Stablecoin Platform for financial institutions, which initially supports Open USD. The system includes a Wallet-as-a-Service offering and is currently in beta testing with selected clients. This integration places Open USD within existing financial infrastructure used by regulated institutions.

Adoption depends on liquidity, reliable fiat conversion, and licensing. Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, stated that businesses require stablecoins already present in their payment services and wallets, backed by issuers acceptable to banks and auditors. Without these elements, merchant and exchange support remains limited.

Regional Use Cases Diverge Between Dollar Access and Local Settlement

Stablecoin adoption varies by region and is influenced by currency stability, remittance costs, regulation, and access to banking. In Latin America, stablecoins are used for savings and cross-border transfers. Boiron identified the Mexico to US and Brazil to US corridors as significant sources of current volume.

Emerging markets such as Argentina, Brazil, and Pakistan use dollar stablecoins as protection against inflation and currency depreciation. In Nigeria, Paga plans to use stablecoin payments on the Sui blockchain to support international transfers for freelancers and businesses paying overseas suppliers.

In contrast, regions with stable domestic currencies and clear regulatory frameworks are developing local-currency stablecoins. Japan and Gulf countries were identified as markets where domestic settlement onchain aligns with public trust in local currencies. Kevin Cui, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of OSL Group, stated that local-currency stablecoins can reduce foreign exchange exposure for businesses operating in euros, reais, or yen.

The European Union now operates under the fully implemented Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework across all 27 member states. The grace period for unauthorized crypto providers has ended, and a single license allows companies to operate across the bloc. Exchanges have restricted several assets, including USDT, while adjusting their offerings to comply with European requirements.

Dollar Stablecoins Maintain Liquidity Advantage

Dollar-denominated stablecoins continue to dominate supply and trading liquidity. According to Bai, non-dollar stablecoins remain concentrated in foreign exchange trading within decentralized finance. Locally denominated assets such as JPYC are developing but remain secondary to USD-based coins in global markets.

Cui expects local-currency stablecoins to expand alongside dollar coins as companies adopt them for domestic payments and regional trade. However, dollar coins retain a leading role in international settlement and savings demand, particularly in markets where users seek protection from inflation or limited banking access.

Blockchains Compete on Settlement Performance

Blockchain infrastructure plays a central role in stablecoin utility. Networks compete through transaction speed, fees, developer tools, and support for multiple major stablecoins.

Bai described Sui’s role in stablecoin growth as focused on settlement efficiency. Requirements include fast transaction finality, scalability for large user bases, stable fees, and strong user experience. In May 2026, Sui introduced gasless stablecoin transfers, allowing users to send supported assets without holding the network’s native token for fees. Confidential transfers entered public beta in June, enabling issuers to conceal balances and transaction values while maintaining compliance and audit access.

In July, Sui recorded more than six million transactions per second during a public experiment using programmable tunnels. These offchain channels process activity away from the main network before settling final results onchain. Such features are intended to support payroll, merchant payments, treasury transfers, and institutional settlement.

Our Assessment

Open USD illustrates how competition in the stablecoin market is shifting toward distribution partnerships, reserve income sharing, regulatory positioning, and blockchain performance. With supply above 300 billion USD and payment use rising sharply in 2025, established dollar coins maintain liquidity advantages, while new entrants seek adoption through consortium models and integration with payment networks. Regional demand continues to split between dollar access in inflation-affected markets and local-currency settlement in jurisdictions with trusted domestic units and defined regulatory frameworks.