Executives at Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase said they plan to support multiple stablecoins including Open USD and USDC, positioning Open USD as an additional payments rail rather than a direct competitor to Circle’s existing stablecoin.
The statements from Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa, Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, clarify the strategic intent behind Open USD, which was announced by Open Standard approximately one month before this article. The announcement had initially sparked investor concern that Open USD would displace USDC, triggering a 20% decline in Circle’s share price that had not recovered by the time of publication.
McInerney described Visa’s approach as “multi-coin, multi-chain” and stated: “Our role is not to pick winners.” Miebach said Open USD would be “another coin that we will enable across our network” and emphasized that “Choice has always been a key criteria and will be the same here in stablecoins.”
Coinbase, which already supports USDC, USDT, and PYUSD, views Open USD as generating “additional business opportunities and revenue opportunities,” according to Armstrong. The exchange recently met conditions to renew its commercial agreement with Circle, the issuer of USDC.
Market Positioning and Partner Commitments
Open USD launched with more than 140 partners announced. Visa deployed the token on its Visa Stablecoin Platform, which launched in July 2026. Mastercard, which supports USDC and the Global Dollar Network stablecoin (USDG) alongside other stablecoins, framed Open USD as “another payments-focused utility with shared economics.”
Miebach added: “Otherwise we wouldn’t move anything forward,” signaling that the company would not advance initiatives that compromised its existing stablecoin relationships.
Despite the 140+ partner announcement, analyst assessments suggest the commitment levels may be overstated. Lorenzo Valente, director of digital asset research at ARK Invest, stated: “It is becoming increasingly clear that the commitment from OUSD’s partners is closer to a soft LOI [letter of intent] than a strategic bet.” Valente added: “Supporting OUSD is very different from committing meaningful resources, distribution, or balance sheet to making it win.”
Amey Dandawate, director at Bluechip Ratings, characterized the partner position as “a free option,” suggesting limited downside risk but uncertain upside commitment from ecosystem members.
Structural Tensions in Multi-Issuer Strategy
Owen Lau, managing director at Clear Street, noted the inherent difficulty in aligning diverse stakeholders: “It is very difficult to align the interests of so many partners with different incentives and agendas.”
Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly, offered a more nuanced view of the major payment networks’ positions. He identified Stripe as the driving force behind Open USD while noting that Visa and Mastercard maintain commercial neutrality due to their existing relationships with competing stablecoin issuers. Hadick stated: “Their businesses require them to not alienate partners and customers. They may push OUSD, but they must be open.”
USDC holds a market value of $72 billion. The stablecoin market has expanded beyond crypto-native issuers to include banks, payment networks, and fintech firms, each backing different tokens including Tether’s USDT, PayPal’s PYUSD, and Paxos’ Global Dollar Network stablecoin.
