Visa Chooses Open USD for its Stablecoin Platform | The Defiant

Visa launched a stablecoin platform built on Open USD, a consortium stablecoin positioned against Circle's USDC, giving it access to distribute stablecoin services to over 200 million merchants. The move signals Visa's shift from bridge between card networks and crypto to operating its own rails, and positions Open USD as the preferred settlement layer for merchant payments. If you're building a stablecoin or settlement layer, Visa just picked your competitor's rails over USDC to reach 200 million merchants—and Visa doesn't pick losers. You now have 18 months to either integrate with Open USD or explain to your customers why they should wait.