← Back

Wire · founder news, decoded · opportunities

Visa, Stripe, and 140 partners launch Open USD to take Circle's stablecoin revenue

Published

22 July 2026

Topic

opportunities

Sectors

Fintech

Geography

United States

Source

Read at startupfortune.com

Verified

Fusion42 · 22 July 2026 · Fusion42 review

Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, Coinbase, and 140+ partners launched Open USD (OUSD), a stablecoin designed to capture the reserve income that currently flows to Circle through USDC—which generated $652.5 million in reserve revenue in Q1 2026 alone. The consortium model offers participating companies direct participation in reserve economics rather than relying on a single issuer's distribution terms, threatening Circle's primary revenue engine as the largest payments and fintech platforms now have a credible alternative.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Fintech. Wire is Fusion42's founder-focused intelligence feed: each story is connected to the funds and startups it names — every one with a live profile on Raise or Scout — so founders can follow the capital and the momentum behind the headline rather than just the headline itself. Wire analysis is one of the live surfaces Arthur reasons over.

The Wire takeaway

If you built a stablecoin or payments infrastructure as a fintech, your largest partners just agreed to split the reserve income with each other instead of sending it to you. Circle's margin compression is your roadmap—the money moves from the issuer to the distributor.

Related on Wire

Topics

Fintech · stablecoins · usdc-threat · fintech-consolidation · reserve-economics · payment-infrastructure