Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock among 140-plus backers of consortium stablecoin OUSD

OpenUSD (OUSD) is preparing to launch on Ethereum as an institutional stablecoin governed by a consortium of more than 140 organisations, with participants spanning payment networks, asset managers, and custody and exchange infrastructure. Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, Coinbase, and Western Union are among the named backers, with the project developed by an independent entity called Open Standard rather than a single issuing firm.

The structural pitch against USDT and USDC centres on two departures from the incumbent model: reserve-asset earnings flow to ecosystem partners rather than to a central issuer, and businesses can mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees or volume caps. Ethereum was chosen as the launch chain for its stablecoin liquidity depth, tokenised asset base, and active on-chain financial services activity. Etherealize, the Ethereum-focused institutional group, framed the launch as major institutions converging on a credibly neutral settlement network.

Substantial implementation detail is still missing. The specific launch timeline, reserve asset composition, issuance structure, redemption mechanics, and regulatory compliance framework have not been disclosed. The operative question for operators tracking this is whether the named participants move beyond announcement into genuine payment and settlement infrastructure, and how much institutional capital OUSD ultimately draws.