Samsung and Google Join Forces for New Coin, Signaling Seismic Shift in the Ecosystem [Bitcoin Now]

OpenUSD, a Dollar-Based Stablecoin, to Launch This Year
Over 140 Global Financial and Big Tech Companies Join the Consortium
Stablecoin Competitiveness Shifts from Issuance to Distribution

Over 140 global financial and technology companies have joined forces to enter the stablecoin market, signaling an upcoming seismic shift in the industry. Analysts project that the domestic stablecoin landscape will also be significantly impacted, with a high likelihood that the consortium-based model—combining both issuance and distribution functions—will take hold.

On June 30, the Stablecoin Consortium “Open Standard” announced its plan to launch a new dollar stablecoin, OpenUSD (OUSD), in the second half of this year through collaboration with more than 140 companies. The alliance includes global firms such as Visa, BlackRock, Stripe, Mastercard, Cloudflare, Google, Shopify, Coinbase, OKX, and Ripple. Korean companies listed as participants include Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Dunamu, and KakaoBank.

Immediately following the announcement by Open Standard, the stock price of Circle—an existing stablecoin powerhouse—plunged over 17%. This reflects market apprehension that the arrival of a new competitor could fundamentally transform the balance of power in the sector.

Currently, Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) dominate the market, operating under a structure where the issuer monopolizes the profits from reserve management. In contrast, OUSD is introducing a “profit-sharing” model. Rather than allowing the issuer alone to collect the interest earned from the collateral assets backing the stablecoin (such as U.S. Treasury bonds), the majority of those profits will be distributed to partner companies helping to facilitate the distribution and settlement of OUSD. Additionally, consortium participants will be able to trade without incurring separate issuance or redemption fees. Unlike conventional stablecoins, which are controlled by a single company, OUSD will be governed via joint decision-making, with participating companies forming a board of directors and operating under a shared governance model.

Kim Sehee, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, commented, “OUSD’s key characteristics include zero issuance and redemption fees, unlimited issuance limits, and the unconditional distribution of operational profits to partner firms—prioritizing the expansion of distribution networks over maximizing issuer revenue. This is a strategy that accurately reflects the fact that, in the stablecoin industry, competitiveness hinges more on regulatory compliance, distribution channels, and securing use cases, rather than just technology.” Kim further noted, “Given that global payment infrastructure leaders like Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are participating as shareholders and beneficiaries, OUSD is positioned to become a strong rival to USDC, especially when it comes to establishing the initial standard for AI agent payments.”

The debut of OUSD is expected to heighten the importance of distribution capability in the stablecoin market. Choi Yoon-Young, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, observed, “By opting to share reserve profits with partners, OUSD strengthens incentives for banks, payment companies, and exchanges to participate. Thus, securing distribution and settlement networks will be the major source of competitiveness in the stablecoin market going forward.”

However, there are also views that OUSD will not immediately threaten Circle’s USDC. Researcher Choi said, “Considering USDC’s current liquidity, regulatory approvals, and level of DeFi (decentralized finance) integration, it is unlikely that its market position will be shaken in the short term. Ultimately, OUSD’s success will depend on how proactively participating companies adopt OUSD in their actual payment, remittance, and trading services.” Hong Seonguk, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, added, “Fears that USDC will quickly lose market share to OUSD seem premature. One cannot overlook USDC’s existing liquidity and first-mover advantage, with 73 billion dollars already issued. Moreover, while major corporations have been cited as partners, it remains uncertain how actively each individual company will be involved.”

The launch of OUSD is also expected to affect Korean-won stablecoins. Lee Junho, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained, “The OUSD model offers meaningful insight into the future of Korean-won stablecoins. In this evolving market, the identity of the issuer is becoming less relevant—instead, distribution power through partners will determine the competitiveness of stablecoin issuers. Although Korea still lacks a basic digital asset law, discussions around consortium-based issuances are already underway, making it highly likely that a structure similar to OUSD will emerge.”

Researcher Kim also stated, “In the Korean-won stablecoin market, the bargaining power of operators with established use cases and distribution networks will outweigh that of the issuers themselves. A consortium-based model that integrates issuance and distribution functions among banks, credit card companies, exchanges, and big tech firms appears to be the most probable direction.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.