Over 140 Giants Unite to Launch Open USD Stablecoin, Coinbase Among Founders

A consortium of over 140 banks, payments firms, and tech giants this week unveiled a new stablecoin called "Open USD," with Coinbase (COIN) among the founding partners. The stablecoin, which features zero-fee minting and redemption and returns reserve yields to partners, is designed to challenge the existing stablecoin landscape. As of 4:30 PM Beijing time on July 5, 2026 (4:30 AM ET on July 5), with markets closed for the weekend, Coinbase (COIN) was at $165.48, up 3.92% (+$6.24) from the prior close of $159.24. The stock opened at $165.185, with an intraday high of $173.09 and a low of $163.22.

Giant Consortium and Disruptive Design

Open USD is launched by the independent entity Open Standard, whose founding CEO is former Coinbase product lead Zach Abrams. According to Open Standard's launch statement, Open USD is described as "a new stablecoin for moving money around the world," with Abrams adding that it is "built for the internet economy, designed by the businesses that grow it."^{[FinTech Futures]}

The project's partner roster is massive, with over 140 names spanning tech, finance, payments, and crypto. Tech giants include Google, Samsung, IBM, Mercado Libre, and Shopify; crypto participants include Coinbase, Solana, Fireblocks, Crypto.com, eToro, and Ripple; traditional finance features BlackRock, Standard Chartered, US Bank, American Express, BBVA, Visa, Mastercard, BNY, and Stripe.^{[FinTech Futures]}

Open USD's design revolves around three core principles: allowing enterprises to mint and redeem stablecoins at zero cost with no quantity limits; returning reserve yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and collaborative governance through an independent board composed of partners.^{[FinTech Futures]}

Will Gaybrick, President of Technology and Business at Stripe, commented: "Open USD will be the default stablecoin for businesses running on Stripe."^{[FinTech Futures]}

Impact on the Existing Stablecoin Landscape

The launch of Open USD directly threatens incumbent stablecoin issuers, particularly Circle Internet Group (CRCL) and its USDC. According to The Motley Fool, USDC currently has a market cap of $73.4 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin after Tether USD.^{[The Motley Fool]}

Open USD's key disruptive feature is its yield distribution mechanism. Traditionally, stablecoin issuers keep the interest income generated from customer deposits of cash or cash equivalents (like U.S. Treasuries) for themselves, rather than passing it on to token holders. Open USD, by contrast, returns nearly all reserve interest to the enterprises that mint, hold, and route the token, not to the issuer.^{[The Motley Fool]}

The Motley Fool analysis notes that this mechanism is likely to unsettle existing stablecoin issuers. Banks and payment companies in the OUSD consortium will have little incentive to continue holding USDC, USDT, or other stablecoins that do not return yields.^{[The Motley Fool]}

Following the announcement, Circle Internet Group shares plunged 17% on June 30, shedding significant market value within 24 hours.^{[The Motley Fool]}

Impact on Specific Blockchain Networks

Open USD's choice of Solana as its first transaction chain is being interpreted by the market as a snub to Ethereum. The Motley Fool analysis states that Ethereum (ETH) was "overlooked" in this decision, despite its massive DeFi ecosystem.^{[The Motley Fool]}

Additionally, Hyperliquid (HYPE) is seen as a network that could be affected. In May, Hyperliquid struck a deal with Coinbase for the exchange to act as the USDC treasury deployer, returning up to 90% of reserve yields (roughly $135 million to $160 million annually) to the network. The Motley Fool notes that this framework assumed USDC would continue to grow as the institutional stablecoin of choice, but the launch of Open USD now calls that assumption into question.^{[The Motley Fool]}

Crypto Industry's Growing Political Clout

In the same week as the Open USD launch, another story highlighted the crypto industry's rising political influence. According to Gizmodo, a new report from Public Citizen shows that crypto companies have poured $189 million into influencing the 2026 midterm elections, making them one of the most powerful corporate political forces in Washington.^[Gizmodo]

The report shows that crypto industry political contributions account for over 37% of all disclosed corporate election spending this cycle, surpassing other major spending sectors like big tech, AI, online gambling, fossil fuels, finance, healthcare, and tobacco. Coinbase is a major contributor, having spent $35.2 million.^[Gizmodo]

Most of these funds have flowed to Fairshake and its affiliated organizations, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, which intervene in races involving candidates from both parties. Ripple is the largest known donor from the crypto industry, having contributed $49.6 million; Crypto.com has spent $38.6 million; and Gemini-related entities have contributed $25.7 million.^[Gizmodo]

Public Citizen's analysis also notes that total disclosed corporate election spending this cycle stands at $517 million, which is 12% higher than the entire 2024 election cycle's corporate spending and nearly three times the $184.1 million spent before the 2022 midterms.^[Gizmodo]

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