Circle's shares fell more than 17% Tuesday to a four-month low after a consortium of over 140 companies unveiled Open USD:
- Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa, and BlackRock are among the project's launch partners:
- The new stablecoin will allow partners to retain reserve earnings, striking at one of the key economics of today's stablecoin issuers:
Circle (CRCL) shares tumbled more than 17% on Tuesday after a consortium backed by some of the biggest names in payments, banking, and crypto unveiled Open USD, a new stablecoin designed to challenge incumbents such as USDC.
The new digital dollar is launched by Open Standard, an independent company whose founding partners include Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa, and BlackRock alongside more than 140 businesses spanning payments, banking, fintech, and crypto.
The initiative is led by Zach Abrams, co-founder of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge, which Stripe acquired in 2024.
"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," he said.
Circle shares closed below $63, at their weakest price since late February and down 55% from mid-May.
Stablecoin Consortium
The launch comes as stablecoins move further into mainstream finance. Once used primarily by crypto traders, dollar-pegged tokens are increasingly powering cross-border payments, merchant settlements, and corporate treasury operations.
Open USD will allow businesses to mint and redeem tokens without fees while returning reserve income to participating partners, less a management fee.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, downplayed Open USD's threat and pointed to the fast-growing stablecoin market.
"Stablecoins represent one of the largest market opportunities in the world as the internet transforms the infrastructure for storing and moving money," he said.
