Visa, Mastercard and Stripe launch the OUSD stablecoin: what it is and how it differs from USDT

What OUSD is

Open USD, or OUSD, is a new dollar stablecoin. It went live on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and from October 1 it became available through Coinbase. Like the USDT stablecoin, OUSD has one job: to be worth exactly one dollar. Every coin is backed by reserves in cash dollars and US Treasury bonds.

What stands out is who is behind it. There are five founders: Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and Shopify. Together they put more than $1 billion into launch liquidity, so that the coin could be bought and sold in large amounts from day one.

The project is organized around a consortium called Open Standard. Its founder and CEO Zach Abrams says the team is glad to bring together more than 140 companies. Unchained even reports more than 200 partners. Among the participants, PYMNTS and Pharos name Google, American Express, DoorDash and BlackRock.

Who issues OUSD

The coins themselves are issued by Bridge, a company owned by Stripe. Its legal entity is currently called Bridge Building Inc. and holds a US money transmitter license (NMLS #2450917). Open Standard brings the project's participants together, while Bridge is responsible for the coins and the reserves.

For businesses, it works like this. A company deposits dollars and receives the same amount of OUSD: that's issuance, or mint. It returns OUSD and gets its dollars back: that's redemption, or burn. The rate is always 1:1. Coins can be minted and redeemed through Stripe, Mastercard, Visa (which has the Visa Stablecoin Platform for this) and Coinbase.

Bridge promises to charge no fees for minting and redemption and to impose no liquidity limits. For companies that move large sums through stablecoins, that adds up to real savings.

Where the reserves are held

OUSD reserves consist of cash and short-term US Treasury bonds, including money market funds holding T-bills with maturities of up to three months. They are held by BlackRock, Lead Bank and BNY. Every month Bridge publishes an attestation, a report confirming the reserves are in place.

The split between cash and bonds has not been disclosed. Pharos, a stablecoin analytics service, points this out.

Why Visa and Stripe want their own stablecoin

The creators call OUSD a stablecoin for moving money. It is meant for international payments, transfers and payroll. Businesses will be able to keep balances in Stripe Treasury and send transfers to crypto wallets in more than 100 countries.

The main goal, as PYMNTS puts it, is to get rid of floating currency conversion fees. Today, a company paying a contractor in another country loses money on currency exchange and doesn't know in advance how much. A transfer in a dollar stablecoin skips that layer.

The participants also have a direct stake. Partners earn rewards in proportion to the volume of OUSD and the activity they bring in, and they can also receive equity in Open Standard. Businesses can earn rewards on OUSD balances held at Bridge. Nothing is known about payouts to ordinary holders of the coin.

Where OUSD is available

TRON is not on the list, even though that's where many people keep their stablecoins. When your USDT is on TRON but you need it on Ethereum, an instant crypto exchange can move it: you send the coins on one network and receive them on another. If you still mix up the networks, we have a guide to the difference between USDT TRC20 and ERC20 and which network to choose for a transfer.

How OUSD differs from USDT

At heart it's the same digital dollar, just with different owners and a different purpose.

USDC is issued by Circle, a US company. What sets OUSD apart from both coins is above all who stands behind it: from day one it is built into the Visa and Mastercard payment networks, Stripe and Shopify, and businesses can mint and redeem it right there.

Can OUSD be frozen

Yes. Pharos has analyzed how the token contracts are set up. On Tempo, Ethereum and Base, the same admin address controls the tokens, including transfer rules and pausing. On Solana, the token has freeze authority and a permanent delegate, which under Solana's rules can move tokens in any account.

That's what the law requires. The US GENIUS Act on stablecoins obliges issuers to be technically able to carry out lawful orders, meaning to freeze coins when the authorities say so. OUSD has said it intends to get approval under this law.

One more detail. The US regulator OCC has given conditional approval for Bridge National Trust Bank. That is not a final license: the bank is not operating yet and does not issue OUSD.

For comparison, on September 28 Tether said that in 2026 it had helped freeze about $550 million in Iran-linked USDT. We covered in detail how Tether froze $550 million in USDT and what it means for ordinary holders. OUSD has the same capabilities, and so the same risks for anyone whose address ends up under an order.

Does an ordinary person need OUSD

For now, OUSD is aimed mainly at businesses. Fee-free 1:1 minting and redemption is open to companies, not individuals. An ordinary person can buy OUSD on Coinbase, Kraken or Uniswap, but it won't give them any particular edge over other dollar stablecoins: nobody has promised holders any interest, and the coin can be frozen just like USDT.

Most likely, ordinary people will come across OUSD without noticing, when a foreign client pays them through Stripe or a Shopify store. If the coins come your way, decide where to keep them. On an exchange, the exchange controls them; in your own wallet, you do. We explained how a custodial wallet differs from a non-custodial one in a separate article.

We don't exchange OUSD. If you want a dollar stablecoin with a US issuer and coins at your own address, you can swap USDT TRC20 for USDC on the Ethereum network without registration: VertEXchange needs no account, and the coins go straight to your wallet.

FAQ

What is the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin?

A dollar stablecoin launched by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and Shopify. It went live on September 30, 2026. Each OUSD is backed by one dollar in cash and short-term US Treasury bonds. The coin is meant for international payments, transfers and payroll.

Who issues OUSD?

Bridge, a company owned by Stripe. Its legal entity is Bridge Building Inc., which holds a US money transmitter license. The project is run by the Open Standard consortium, whose founder and CEO is Zach Abrams.

Can OUSD be frozen?

Yes. According to Pharos, on Ethereum, Base and Tempo an admin address controls the token's transfer rules and pausing, and on Solana the token has freeze authority. The US GENIUS Act requires issuers to be technically able to carry out lawful orders.

Where can I buy OUSD?

At launch, OUSD trades on Coinbase, Kraken and Uniswap. Access through Coinbase opened on October 1, 2026. Companies can mint OUSD 1:1 against the dollar with no fees through Stripe, Mastercard, Visa and Coinbase.

Which networks does OUSD run on?

Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo. TRON is not among them.

Does OUSD pay interest to holders?

No payouts to ordinary holders have been announced. Rewards go to the project's partners, based on the volume of OUSD and the activity they bring in. Businesses can earn rewards on OUSD balances held at Bridge.

How does OUSD differ from USDT?

USDT is issued by Tether, while OUSD is issued by Bridge, a Stripe company, with the backing of Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, Shopify and more than 140 other companies. OUSD is built primarily for business payments. Both coins can be frozen.