Aptos Labs has joined more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and BlackRock, in backing the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin designed to solve persistent cost and a
Aptos Labs has joined more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and BlackRock, in backing the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin designed to solve persistent cost and access problems in global payments. The @Aptos network is listed alongside other blockchain infrastructure providers as one of the platforms on which the token will eventually be available.
Open USD charges no fees to mint or redeem, even at scale, eliminating a cost barrier that has slowed institutional stablecoin adoption for treasury and payments teams operating at high volume. That is a deliberate break from existing products. Revenue from reserve economics is shared with companies that grow adoption, with most revenue generated from reserves returned to participants after a small management fee, inverting the standard issuer-capture approach in which the issuing company retains float income on dollar-backed assets as its primary revenue stream.
The token, ticker OUSD, will be operated by Open Standard, an independent company whose board is composed of the stablecoin's partners.Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, leads Open Standard as its founding CEO.
Payment networks and processors including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, and Adyen are involved, alongside major global banks such as BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Technology companies including Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, and Shopify have also signed on, as has a broad swath of the crypto industry, including Aptos Labs, Solana, Coinbase, Ripple, Aave, and Fireblocks.
Open USD is planned on four blockchain networks, including Solana, Polygon, Aptos Labs, and Stellar, when it goes live later in 2026. The launch arrives as the broader stablecoin market continues to expand. The total stablecoin market cap has surpassed $300 billion, reflecting growing demand for blockchain-based payment infrastructure from both crypto-native companies and traditional financial institutions.
Circle was the news's clearest casualty, with CRCL stock falling to a four-month low and closing down 17.55% on the day of the announcement.The reaction reflects how directly Open USD's model threatens Circle's core business, which relies on retaining the interest earned on USDC's reserves rather than sharing it with distributors.
Sources:The Block: Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and more join Open USD stablecoin that shares reserve revenueBlockhead: Visa, Stripe, BlackRock among 140 firms backing new Open USD stablecoinCoinLaw: Open Standard Launches Open USD Stablecoin Backed by 140 Companies
