What the 140-Partner Consortium Means for Open USD
Open USD launched with more than 140 partners signed on from day one, making it the largest debut roster any stablecoin has ever had.
That is a very crowded room.
The group covers card networks like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Major banks like BlackRock and Standard Chartered joined too.
Tech companies like Google, Samsung, and Shopify signed on alongside crypto players like Coinbase, Ripple, and MetaMask.
Having this many big names involved from the start means Open USD enters the market with serious built-in credibility and reach instead of spending years trying to build trust slowly.
Partners can mint and redeem Open USD at no cost with no artificial limits on volume, removing the prohibitively expensive barriers that plagued stablecoin adoption at scale.
Notably, Circle and Tether are absent from the coalition, with their stock and market position taking a direct hit as partners chose to build shared infrastructure instead of relying on standalone dollar tokens.
The large, diverse consortium also gives Open USD immediate market reach across sectors and regions.
How Open USD Splits Yield Across Partners Instead of Keeping It
Unlike most stablecoins that keep the interest from reserves as company profit, Open USD sends nearly all of it back to the partners in its network.
Most stablecoins pocket the interest. Open USD sends it back to the partners actually doing the work.
Think of it like a pizza shop sharing tips with everyone on staff instead of keeping them.
Reserve interest gets pooled centrally.
A small management fee covers operations and compliance.
The rest flows to partners based on how much OUSD they distribute and hold.
More volume means more earnings.
This flips the traditional model used by Circle and Tether and turns onchain dollars into something that actually pays the businesses moving them.
Open Standard launched with a coalition of more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase, giving the yield-sharing model immediate distribution scale.
Circle’s reserve income represented 96% of 2025 revenue, making it deeply exposed to any model that redirects that float to partners instead. A growing number of protocols also offer liquid staking as a way to keep funds accessible while earning rewards.
Which Blockchains Support Open USD at Launch?
That yield-sharing model only works if partners can actually move OUSD where their customers already are. At launch, two blockchains get native support: Solana and Base.
Solana handles high-speed global payments and connects directly with Stripe. It uses the SPL token standard. Institutional backing has increased confidence in blockchain-backed payment rails.
Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, focuses on DeFi and institutional settlement using the B20 standard. Think of them as two busy highways built for different traffic.
Stellar, Polygon, and Tempo are not confirmed for day one. Both launch networks support zero-fee minting and redemption.
More blockchains can be added later through partner board votes. The governance structure includes an Open USD governance board made up of partners to support collective-interest decisions. Open Standard, the operating entity behind Open USD, is led by Zach Abrams, cofounder of Bridge, which Stripe acquired in late 2024.
Why Open USD Threatens Tether and Circle’s Revenue Model
Stablecoins like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC have quietly minted billions in profit using a simple trick: they hold safe government assets like U.S. Treasuries and keep all the interest earned. This model depends on predictable returns from government bonds held in reserves.
Tether and Circle quietly pocket billions — just by holding government bonds and keeping every dollar of interest.
Open USD flips that playbook entirely.
Instead of one company pocketing yields, partners share nearly everything:
- Zero minting fees cut into Circle’s transaction revenue
- Direct yield sharing replaces Circle’s negotiated partner deals
- Coinbase backing OUSD creates conflict with its USDC partnership
- Circle’s stock dropped 17% when Open USD was announced
The money still flows.
It just flows somewhere new.
Circle’s business is far more exposed than most realize, with 96% of its $2.7B revenue derived entirely from reserve income.
Tether, however, remains more insulated near-term, benefiting from offshore and crypto-native liquidity that Open USD cannot easily displace.
How Partners Turn Open USD Reserve Income Into DeFi Rewards
When Open USD partners earn their share of reserve income, they face a key choice: pocket the money or put it to work.
Some may funnel earnings into liquidity mining rewards on decentralized exchanges.
Others could boost lending rates for users holding Open USD as collateral.
Cashback programs inside partner wallets offer another friendly option.
Partners running cross-chain bridges can even route rebates across different networks.
Think of it like a restaurant deciding whether to keep profits or offer happy-hour deals to attract more customers.
The real question is whether partners prioritize growing liquidity or simply collecting margin. Total stablecoin supply sits at nearly $312 billion today, meaning even a small share captured by Open USD translates into substantial reserve income available for distribution.
Open Standard is backed by more than 140 partners, giving the network broad reach to deploy reserve earnings across a wide range of financial products and platforms. A portion of those earnings could be allocated to creator royalties to incentivize long-term ecosystem participation.
