Visa is positioning itself as neutral infrastructure for stablecoin payments rather than endorsing Open USD or any other token, chief executive officer Ryan McInerney said during the company’s Tuesday earnings call, tempering speculation that its support for a new industry consortium marks a direct challenge to USDT and USDC.
Asked whether the planned Open USD stablecoin, known as OUSD, could emerge as a competitor to the dollar-pegged tokens issued by Tether and Circle, McInerney said Visa’s role was “not to pick winners.” He said the payments company aims to connect clients with stablecoin infrastructure in a secure and scalable way across multiple tokens and blockchain networks.
The comments arrived shortly after Visa backed Open Standard, a consortium of more than 140 companies planning to launch OUSD later this year. Visa’s involvement has drawn attention because the company sits at the intersection of banks, payment providers, fintechs and merchants that could distribute or use stablecoins for settlement.
Visa supports access rather than a single stablecoin
Visa’s approach gives it room to support OUSD while maintaining integrations with established stablecoins and future products. That position is commercially practical for a payments network: clients may prefer different issuers, chains and settlement models depending on their compliance requirements, markets and existing banking relationships.
Earlier this month, Visa introduced an internal platform designed to help banks and fintech companies use stablecoins. The company said OUSD will be supported in the platform’s initial rollout.
The announcement has fueled market discussion over whether OUSD’s proposed commercial model could pressure the biggest existing dollar stablecoins. Open Standard plans to share reserve earnings with distribution partners after deducting a management fee, according to the consortium’s planned structure. It also expects to offer fee-free minting and redemption without volume limits.
That design would give banks, fintechs and payment companies a direct economic incentive to distribute OUSD, assuming the arrangement is implemented as described. Traditional stablecoin issuers have generally retained income generated by the cash and short-term government securities backing their tokens, using part of that revenue for operations, compliance and commercial partnerships.
Revenue-sharing model drives competition debate
Mikko Ohtamaa, chief executive officer and co-founder of Trading Strategy, argued in public commentary that returning reserve income to participants could disrupt the economics that have supported dominant stablecoin issuers. His view reflects a growing focus on how stablecoin revenue is allocated rather than simply which token has the largest circulating supply.
The appeal of a revenue-sharing model will depend on several operational details, including the level of the management fee, reserve composition, redemption procedures, regulatory treatment and the contractual terms offered to distributors. A network of large partners can provide substantial distribution reach, but it also creates the challenge of coordinating commercial interests, technical standards and governance.
Lorenzo Valente, director of research at Ark Invest, questioned in separate public commentary how deeply corporate partners would commit to OUSD over the long term. A consortium can attract prominent members at launch without guaranteeing that each participant will prioritize the token in consumer products, treasury operations or settlement flows.
OUSD will therefore need more than a large membership roster to pull activity from established stablecoins. It would need reliable liquidity, broad wallet and exchange support, clear redemption access, resilient reserve management and sufficient use across payment corridors. Stablecoins can retain market share even when competitors offer more attractive economics if they already have deeply embedded trading pairs, on-chain liquidity pools and institutional settlement relationships.
Analysts reassess circle’s competitive position
The prospect of another well-funded dollar stablecoin has already influenced equity research around Circle, the issuer of USDC. Mizuho downgraded Circle, citing competitive pressure it linked to OUSD. Bernstein analysts subsequently reduced their price target for Circle to $140, according to the supplied materials.
Baird also cut its Circle price target from $138 to $100. The materials said Circle shares fell from a peak of $260 to $61 by mid-July, a decline of about 76%, and said the company had been removed from a major Wall Street growth index.
Those equity-market moves show how closely Circle’s valuation is tied to assumptions about USDC’s supply, reserve income and distribution position. The market value of a stablecoin issuer can be highly sensitive to relatively small changes in expected yield revenue or market share, particularly when short-term interest rates make reserve assets more profitable.
Tether remains the larger incumbent by supply. The materials described its stablecoin as having roughly $73 billion outstanding across 34 blockchains. Its scale gives USDT a substantial liquidity advantage, especially in crypto trading markets and international transfers where it has long been widely used.
Execution will determine whether OUSD gains traction
The proposed August 18, 2026 expiration of a major revenue-sharing arrangement has added urgency to discussion around distribution contracts, according to the supplied commentary. The specific effects will depend on the parties involved and whether new agreements change the economics available to payment firms and financial institutions.
Some traders are also watching issuance and transfer activity on Solana, where large institutional movements could offer clues about early distribution patterns. On-chain minting data can show whether supply is expanding, though issuance alone would not establish whether a stablecoin is gaining durable payment use or simply moving between affiliated wallets and liquidity providers.
Visa’s stance leaves it able to benefit from stablecoin adoption even if OUSD does not become a leading token. By supporting multiple assets and networks, the company can sell connectivity and payment infrastructure to clients while avoiding a direct bet on which issuer wins the contest for dollar-denominated liquidity.
Want deeper context on dollar-pegged tokens? Learn what are stablecoins and how they work before the next big payments shift.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent the views or financial advice of Toobit. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from its use. Investing in digital assets involves risk; users should independently evaluate their financial situation and the risks involved. For further details, please consult our Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure.
