Viewpoint: OUSD could directly impact USDC's distribution economic model and profit margins.

CoinShares noted that Open USD, a stablecoin project driven by a banking-backed consortium, could directly impact Circle’s USDC distribution economic model and profit margins, as it plans to allocate reserve revenues to participating partners rather than retaining them primarily with the issuer. This mechanism may raise USDC’s costs for maintaining its circulation network and, following its launch in the second half of 2026, exert more substantial competitive pressure on Circle. However, CoinShares also pointed out that Open USD has not yet officially launched, with key details such as its reserve structure and fee model still undisclosed. By contrast, USDC retains existing advantages including liquidity, exchange platform integration, decentralized finance (DeFi) and payment scenario integration. Thus, Open USD is currently viewed as a credible challenger to USDC, though its actual impact remains unproven. On July 1, Open Standard announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund transfers, adding that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, spanning financial, payment and crypto industry players including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana and Polygon. Open USD follows three core design principles: enabling zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board comprising independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer.