Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase join consortium launching new stablecoin

WASHINGTON: A consortium that includes Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase on Tuesday announced the launch of a joint stablecoin initiative aimed at expanding the use of such digital tokens.

The venture, called Open Standard, brings together more than 140 businesses in a stablecoin network and plans to issue a new US dollar-pegged stablecoin named Open USD later this year. According to Open Standard, the project is intended to speed up global stablecoin use by tackling obstacles businesses face when trying to scale adoption.

Open Standard said businesses will be able to mint and redeem Open USD without fees and without volume limits, a structure it said is designed to support large-scale use. The consortium also said income generated from the reserves backing Open USD will be distributed among partners after deducting a management fee to cover operating costs.

Open Standard founding CEO Zach Abrams said existing stablecoins had advantages but still fell short for broader commercial use.

"Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that's open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests"

The stablecoin will be pegged to the US dollar. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a steady value and are backed by conventional currencies such as the US dollar or the euro.

US President Donald Trump last year signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing federal rules and guidelines for stablecoins. Experts had said at the time that the law, described as the first US legislation designed to facilitate crypto use, could help make digital assets a more common way to make payments and transfer money.

Even so, stablecoins are still used mainly to support trading in other crypto assets and have yet to become widely adopted for sending or receiving payments. BNY chief product and innovation officer Carolyn Weinberg said the consortium’s model could help drive the sector’s next stage.

"A stablecoin with neutral governance and shared economics is a unique combination that has potential to unlock the next phase of digital assets growth"

The development follows another industry effort in 2024, when some fintech and crypto companies joined hands to launch a global stablecoin network called Global Dollar Network.