The Alliance Problem: Can Open USD Outrun Circle and Tether?

On September 8, 2026, Visa announced it will share VisaNet settlement data with blockchain-based lenders, so stablecoin-linked card programs and fintechs can tap working-capital credit through onchain infrastructure. Buried in the release were two numbers worth sitting with: more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now run on Visa's network, with payment volume on them up nearly 200% year over year, and Visa's own stablecoin settlement volume has crossed a $20 billion annualized run rate — over 15 times what it was a year ago. Visa is not waiting on anyone. It is building and scaling its own stablecoin rails in parallel, in real time.

That matters for how you should read Visa's other big stablecoin move this year. On June 30, 2026, more than 140 companies — Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock, BNY, American Express, Western Union, Shopify — signed on to Open USD (OUSD), a new dollar-backed stablecoin run by an independent entity called Open Standard. Notably absent: Circle and Tether, the two issuers who currently own the stablecoin market.

The Open USD pitch is structural, not technical. Circle and Tether both capture the yield on their reserves and set the terms for everyone downstream. Open USD flips that: it charges zero fees to mint and redeem, imposes no volume caps, and returns nearly all reserve income to the partners who use it, after a small management fee.⁴4 Effectively, the payment networks that move the world's money are trying to own the rail that settles it, rather than renting one from Circle at Circle's price.

The scale of the coalition is significant. It spans four constituencies that rarely move in lockstep — card networks, banks, fintechs, and crypto infrastructure. That breadth is Open USD's advantage and its central risk simultaneously. A single, well-capitalized issuer can ship features fast: Circle changes USDC's redemption terms by making one decision. A 140-member consortium changes anything by getting 140 sets of incentives to agree.

This is where the "alliance" framing should make anyone pause — and where Visa's September announcement becomes the clearest evidence of the risk. Open Standard hasn't disclosed which blockchain OUSD will run on or specified a launch date more precise than "later this year." Visa, meanwhile, already has $20 billion in annualized stablecoin settlement moving on its own infrastructure, and Mastercard just paid up to $1.8 billion for stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK. Two of Open USD's biggest backers are visibly hedging their hedge, scaling proprietary capability faster than the shared rail they co-signed. When your own backers keep building around you, the alliance's "shared rail" logic gets tested early.

The interoperability test is just as real as the governance one. OUSD has to work across chains, wallets, processors, banking partners, and compliance systems — and do so under fragmented global stablecoin regulation, where US treatment under the GENIUS Act doesn't guarantee the same reception in Europe, Asia-Pacific, or Latin America.

None of this means the opportunity isn't real. Circle's stock dropped sharply on the June announcement, which is an indication that the market believes a partner-owned, fee-free rail is a credible threat. But "credible threat" and "proven network" are different claims.

Let the race begin.

Sources

1. Fortune, "Stripe, Visa and over 140 other businesses to launch stablecoin to rival Tether and Circle," June 30, 2026 — https://fortune.com/2026/06/30/stripe-visa-stablecoin-rival-ousd-tether-circle/

2. Ibid.

3. Stablecoin Insider, "Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and BlackRock Join 140-Plus Partner Consortium to Launch Open USD Stablecoin" — https://stablecoininsider.org/visa-stripe-mastercard-and-blackrock-join-140-plus-partner-consortium-to-launch-open-usd-stablecoin/

4. KuCoin, "What Is Open USD? Visa, Stripe & BlackRock-Backed Stablecoin Set to Rival USDC in 2026" — https://www.kucoin.com/blog/what-is-open-usd-visa-stripe-blackrock-backed-stablecoin-set-to-rival-usdc-in-2026

5. The Next Web, "Visa, Mastercard and 140 firms launch Open USD, a stablecoin built to undercut Circle" — https://thenextweb.com/news/open-usd-stablecoin-visa-mastercard-consortium

6. Stablecore, "What the Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard Stablecoin Means for Banks and Credit Unions" — https://stablecore.com/blog/what-the-visa-stripe-and-mastercard-stablecoin-means-for-banks-and-credit-unions-open-standard-open-usd-explained

7. Forrester, "Stripe's New Stablecoin Bet: Open USD" — https://www.forrester.com/blogs/stripes-new-stablecoin-bet-open-usd/

8. CoinDesk, "Circle (CRCL) tumbles as Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock back rival stablecoin network," June 30, 2026 — https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/06/30/circle-slides-8-as-stripe-coinbase-and-blackrock-back-rival-stablecoin-network