Open USD stablecoin plan tests shared reserve-income model

Open Standard has proposed Open USD, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin aimed at enterprise payments, global settlement and future AI-driven commerce, according to materials cited by OpenPayd founder Ozan Ozerk. The initiative has attracted market attention because more than 140 companies have been named around it, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, American Express, BlackRock, Google, Coinbase, Shopify and Solana, Ozerk wrote in a Finextra opinion piece.

Open Standard is described by Ozerk as an independent organisation led by Zach Abrams, founder of Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe. The project is being positioned as shared financial infrastructure rather than a single-company token designed only for crypto trading or custody.

The central commercial issue is how stablecoin economics are distributed. Under the dominant model described by Ozerk, users hold dollar-backed tokens while the issuer keeps reserves in cash, short-term government securities or similar assets. Income from those reserves largely accrues to the issuer.

Open USD has been presented as a different structure, with more of the value generated by reserves potentially flowing to companies that support adoption and transaction activity, Ozerk wrote. Those participants could include payment firms, exchanges, marketplaces, fintechs and other distribution partners.

A challenge to issuer-led economics

Stablecoins have increasingly been discussed as payments and settlement infrastructure, including for cross-border transactions that may be slower or more costly on existing rails, according to Ozerk. Open USD’s proposed design therefore raises a wider question for the sector: whether the issuer should retain most reserve income, or whether distribution partners should share more directly in the economics.

Ozerk argued that a shared model could intensify competition in a stablecoin market concentrated around several large names. If major distribution partners support a new dollar token, incumbent issuers may face pressure on partner economics, access, costs and commercial models, he wrote.

The mechanism matters for enterprises. Stablecoin utility for businesses depends less on holding a token itself and more on settlement speed, lower friction in payment flows, programmable transactions, treasury options and cross-border access to customers or suppliers, according to Ozerk.

Governance and operational risks

The same shared structure also creates complexity. Ozerk wrote that stablecoin infrastructure requires continued investment in compliance, liquidity, technology, risk management and governance. If too much reserve income is distributed away from the operating structure, the model could face strain over time, he said.

Governance may be the harder test. A broad group of payments companies, exchanges, technology platforms, banks, asset managers and other stakeholders can provide market reach, but it also creates the potential for conflicting priorities. Ozerk said Open USD would need clear accountability for reserves, compliance, risk, technology, disclosures, redemptions and crisis management.

Regulation is another variable. Different jurisdictions may take different approaches to reserve assets, disclosures, redemption rights, safeguarding, yield-sharing and the role of commercial partners, Ozerk wrote. A structure that works in one market may need changes elsewhere.

Ozerk also said trust would depend on transparency around what backs the coin, how reserves are held, how redemption works and who is responsible under stress. For enterprise payments and settlement, the infrastructure would also need to handle volume, liquidity demands, compliance checks, partner integrations, disputes, technical failures and market pressure.

Infrastructure implications

For infrastructure providers such as OpenPayd, where Ozerk is founder, the Open USD proposal is relevant even if it does not become the leading stablecoin model. He described OpenPayd as stablecoin-agnostic, focused on payment orchestration, on- and off-ramps, account infrastructure and support for multiple assets, currencies and rails.

Ozerk said the broader lesson for clients is to avoid relying on a single stablecoin outcome and instead build systems that can hold, move, convert and route value across different payment rails as the market changes.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.