A consortium of global payment and technology leaders, including Visa and Alphabet, have agreed to adopt a new stablecoin called Open USD. The independent entity managing the project, Open Standard, announced on Tuesday that the stablecoin is scheduled for launch later this year.

Open USD is being launched by a coalition of over 140 companies from the financial, technology, and crypto sectors. Partners include Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, Coinbase, BNY Mellon, Ripple, IBM, and Shopify. Unlike USDC and USDT, which are controlled by single issuers, Open USD utilizes a federated governance model. This allows businesses to mint and redeem tokens at no cost, with the vast majority of returns from reserve assets being returned to partners. Only a small management fee is deducted to cover operational expenses. The interim CEO of Open Standard stated that businesses require solutions that are open, low-cost, high-throughput, and designed for large-scale use that aligns with their interests.

The stablecoin is planned for simultaneous issuance on multiple blockchains, including Solana, Stellar, Base, and Polygon. Its launch coincides with the maturing regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States. The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act signed into law last year established federal rules and guidance, paving the way for institutional adoption.

The Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Visa commented that as stablecoins become more deeply integrated into the global financial system, governance, interoperability, and trust will be critical. The President of Technology and Business at Stripe stated that Open USD will become the default stablecoin for businesses operating on the Stripe platform. This alliance model, comprising industry giants, signifies that competition in the stablecoin space is shifting from a battle among issuers to a contest for control over the underlying infrastructure.