The Open USD platform has launched on four blockchains, receiving more than $1 billion in liquidity investments from five founding partners, and represents a stablecoin model that ties companies' rewards and ownership to the supply and use of tokens.
According to the report, the dollar stablecoin Open Standard launched on Wednesday, with an interview with CEO Zak Abrams cited as the source, who said the five founding partners will help provide liquidity in the coming months.
Under the terms described by Abrams, companies could hold OUSD on their balance sheets, deploy tokens on blockchains, or participate in market making. He said each partner will contribute through the activities best suited to its business.
According to the CEO, the commitments cover future liquidity support, and the five companies have also invested in Open Standard and received equal initial equity stakes.
Open USD ties partner rewards to supply and transactions
Explaining the goals of launching the payment system, Abrams listed banking, cross-border transfers, card settlements, institutional trading and lending as markets that Open Standard aims to serve.
"We want to be the most useful stablecoin, as useful as the US dollar," he said.
Instead of giving founders a separate right to revenue, Open Standard will reward them for the OUSD supply they generate under the same system available to other partners, Abrams said.
The CEO also outlined plans to distribute a significant portion of the company's shares over the next four to five years. Founders and other network participants will receive an ownership stake depending on their contribution to the token's growth.
According to Abrams, partners that reach a minimum threshold can receive an equity stake based on a combination of supply and transaction activity. In his description, companies are credited with promoting OUSD as well as putting tokens into circulation.
"The vast majority of our equity will be distributed among founders and non-founders depending on how they contribute to the network's development," he said.
On its website, Open Standard states that it will share nearly all reserve revenue with companies that help drive adoption. The issuer also lists among OUSD's features free creation and redemption of the cryptocurrency.
In a separate interview, Tempo Chief Commercial Officer Dan Romero said that eliminating minting and burning fees could reduce costs for businesses moving large sums between regular dollars and stablecoins.
Five founders hold company shares, and the network has passed the 200-company mark
Although the Open Standard project was unveiled in June with more than 140 partners, Abrams said that only Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are currently investing in the company.
The CEO rejected claims that Open Standard is a consortium run by hundreds of participants. According to him, management makes operational decisions, while a smaller group of founders holds ownership rights and participates in governance.
1 July, the initial announcement of Open USD described a token planned to be put into circulation later this year, with partners gaining access to reserve revenue after operating expenses are deducted.
Abrams now expects the founder group to expand to roughly 10-12 companies, with a board of directors to be formed from among the founders. Separately, he noted that the network seeking to integrate OUSD has grown to more than 200 businesses.
According to the CEO, among the latest additions to the list are Japanese company SBI Holdings, Swiss bank UBS and fintech company Jeeves. The network announced in June included BlackRock, BNY and Standard Chartered.
Discussions about participation continue beyond the founder group as well. On 28 August, Dunamu, the operator of the South Korean exchange Upbit, announced a partnership with Visa covering stablecoin payments, international money transfers and financial services using artificial intelligence.
The companies said that as part of this work they will evaluate OUSD's business models. Previously, Dunamu described its participation in Open Standard as a proposal under consideration rather than a token issuance agreement.
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