Open USD rattled Circle's stock, but its key backers still support USDC
Executives at Coinbase, Visa and Mastercard said they plan to support multiple stablecoins, suggesting Open USD is another payments rail rather than a direct replacement for USDC.
When Open Standard unveiled Open USD last month, investors quickly feared it would challenge Circle's $72 billion USDC stablecoin, interpreting the backing from Coinbase, Visa, and Mastercard as a direct threat. Shares of Circle plummeted by up to 20%, erasing billions of dollars in market value, and have yet to recover. The reaction demonstrated a larger shift in the stablecoin market, as traditional financial institutions, banks, and fintech firms enter the arena.
However, key backers of Open USD, such as Coinbase, Visa, and Mastercard, have clarified their stance, stating they intend to support multiple stablecoins instead of betting on a single winner. Coinbase's CFO Alesia Haas reassured investors about the exchange's commitment to the USDC ecosystem, while Visa's CEO Ryan McInerney and Mastercard's CEO Michael Miebach emphasized the importance of choice in stablecoins and their neutrality in the competition.
The executives' comments suggest that the initial reaction to Open USD's partner list may have been overly dramatic, as joining the consortium amounts to a "free option" without significant commitments. Despite the market's initial skepticism, Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase's participation could still accelerate stablecoin use in consumer payments, as they work with competing issuers and have commercial reasons to remain neutral.
Written by urgent.news from CoinDesk's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
