Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase Launch Open Standard Stablecoin Network

A consortium of businesses led by Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase have launched a joint stablecoin, as reported by Reuters. Over 140 businesses are involved in the stablecoin network, which is called Open Standard. The group plans on launching a coin tied to the US dollar called Open USD, which should be available later this year.

This whole enterprise is an attempt to accelerate global usage of stablecoins. The value of these coins shouldn't fluctuate too much, as they are tied to the US dollar. However, research has indicated that stablecoins are still primarily being used for trading crypto assets and not for actually buying stuff.

"Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that's open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible and aligned to their interests," Open Standard CEO Zach Abrams told Reuters.

This follows the introduction of PayPal's stablecoin, the appropriately-named PayPal USD. That coin has remained relatively stable, hovering near the $1 USD mark since launching back in 2023.

President Trump recently signed the GENIUS Act into law, which created a regulatory framework for stablecoins. The law mandates that issuers must hold 1:1 reserves for any stablecoins. There are also some anti-money laundering rules and consumer protections in the event of an issuer's bankruptcy.

The current administration has been extremely friendly to the crypto industry. Former PayPal executive David Sacks was picked to be the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar" back in 2024 and has been accused of staying in the position longer than allowed. This raised ethics concerns, as he also stayed on at his venture capital firm throughout this period. He finally gave up the government post in March of 2026 and has since joined Trump's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

While stablecoins are relatively safe, the rest of the crypto space is wrapped in chaos. There are regulations, in theory, but it's still the wild west out there. The volatility is off the charts. Just look at Bitcoin, which is down nearly 50 percent in the past year.