Open USD Launches on Four Chains With Partner Equity Model

Open USD (OUSD), backed by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa, went live on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo. The five founding partners each hold an equal initial equity stake in Open Standard, while CEO Zach Abrams says the “overwhelming majority” of the company’s equity will be distributed over time to partners based on their contributions to OUSD’s growth.

Why it matters

Open Standard is entering a stablecoin market worth more than $300 billion, where Tether’s USDT has about $143 billion in circulation and Circle’s USDC roughly $74 billion. Rather than reserve a special revenue share for founding partners, the company says partners will earn rewards under the same framework, based on the OUSD supply they generate. Equity allocation will also take transaction activity into account, so partners have an incentive to drive use, not simply hold the token.

The founding group has an ownership and governance role, while the broader partner network supports integrations and growth. Open Standard says that network has expanded from more than 140 companies to over 200, including UBS, Japan’s SBI Holdings and fintech Jeeves. Abrams expects the founding group to grow from five companies to roughly 10 to 12.

Market impact

OUSD’s launch across four networks puts the project in payments, banking, settlement and institutional trading markets, not just the competition for stablecoin issuance. Open Standard plans to charge no minting or burning fees. Tempo’s Dan Romero said he sees a path to roughly $1 billion of OUSD on Tempo within months, more than $10 billion during 2027 and potentially over $100 billion over the next several years. Those are projections, not current supply figures.

The model’s test will be whether partner incentives translate into sustained liquidity and transactions across the networks. Abrams also said the network is seeking stablecoins in currencies beyond the U.S. dollar, suggesting OUSD’s ambitions could extend beyond dollar-denominated payments.