Core facts (with a single-source caveat)
According to a Tokenpost report, an alliance of payment companies and banks called “Open Standard,” reportedly comprising more than 140 participating institutions, has launched a stablecoin called Open USD (OUSD) — and the report claims Circle’s stock (NYSE: CRCL) dropped sharply as a result. The report names Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase among the alliance’s members. Unlike the model used by USDT and USDC, where the issuer keeps reserve interest exclusively, OUSD is designed to return most of the yield to payment apps, network partners, and other ecosystem participants.
On transparency first: as of publication, we have found only the single Korean-language source cited above, and have not yet located independent corroboration in mainstream English-language financial media or through official channels from Open Standard or Circle for the specific figures of “140 institutions” and “Circle’s 17% single-day drop.” This article therefore keeps the report’s claims clearly separate from our own analysis — the numbers are treated as “according to the report” rather than as verified facts, and we avoid drawing firm conclusions from them. Readers who want to check Circle’s official position on reserves and yield structure can go directly to Circle’s official transparency page.
Editorial take · What this actually means for USDT card users
The bottom line up front: the epicenter of this news is the issuer’s business model, not the usability of the USDT sitting in your wallet.
The day-to-day logic of most USDT virtual cards — including our editorially selected MPCard and its Asia Elite variant, and Bybit Card — is “you top up in USDT, and the card converts to fiat at the moment of spending.” That flow depends on USDT’s redemption and liquidity, not on “who keeps the reserve interest.” What OUSD is challenging is whether the issuer earns interest, not whether the stablecoin can redeem 1:1. So:
- Within 7 days: cardholders should see almost no perceptible change in day-to-day spending, subscription charges, or top-ups.
- Within 30 days: worth watching is secondary-market sentiment. If Circle’s stock volatility gets amplified into a “stablecoin industry risk” narrative, individual exchanges might temporarily adjust USDC/USDT conversion depth — this would have almost no impact on users who fund cards with USDT, and might add an extra conversion step for users who typically route through USDC.
- Within 90 days: the real thing to watch is whether the “yield-sharing model” forces existing issuers to give up margin. If OUSD genuinely scales, the theoretical room for revenue sharing with channel partners grows, and over the long run this could translate into improved issuer fee structures — but this is a long game; don’t expect it within a quarter.
To compare fees and settlement paths across different cards, see 2026 USDT Card Top 5 and the Lowest Fee Comparison.
Historical comparison: how this differs from 2023
Whenever the market hears “Circle,” “stablecoin,” and “sharp drop” together, it’s easy to reflexively think back to the March 2023 USDC depeg event — when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, USDC briefly fell below $0.88, directly impacting every card settled in USDC.
But the two events are fundamentally different in nature:
- 2023 USDC depeg: a crisis of redemption capacity — part of the reserves were trapped in a collapsed bank, directly affecting whether holders could redeem 1:1. That was the kind of event cardholders should genuinely worry about.
- This OUSD event: as reported, is a matter of competitive positioning and profit distribution. It doesn’t question whether USDC or USDT can redeem — it’s competing for the slice of interest income that issuers currently keep. The direct redemption risk to cardholders is close to zero.
A more apt historical comparison is actually PYUSD (PayPal’s stablecoin) entering the market in 2023 — which was also read at the time as “a giant challenging Tether/Circle,” causing short-term market volatility but leaving the actual experience of end cardholders largely unchanged. The takeaway here: don’t mistake a “fight over profits” for a “depeg risk.”
Regulatory and compliance perspective
There is currently no publicly available information on OUSD’s regulatory status in any jurisdiction, and we make no speculation about its compliance standing. What’s more practically useful for USDT card users is your own jurisdiction’s stance on stablecoin cards themselves — a boundary that has been tightening or clarifying quickly over the past couple of years:
- European Union: the MiCAR framework has already brought stablecoin issuance and circulation under clear regulation; any new stablecoin entering the EU must meet reserve and disclosure requirements — see the EU compliance guide.
- Hong Kong: the stablecoin ordinance has entered its implementation phase, setting a licensing threshold for issuers — see the Hong Kong compliance guide.
- Singapore: MAS has clear rules on stablecoin reserves and redemption — see the Singapore compliance guide.
For readers in Asia-Pacific: using a USDT virtual card currently sits in a “gray area for holding and personal spending, but not explicitly prohibited” status across most Asia-Pacific jurisdictions. What is actually clearly restricted is publicly issuing a stablecoin — which is precisely the threshold that new entrants like OUSD must clear, and it’s a separate matter from your personal card usage.
Key checkpoints worth watching next
- Cross-verification from English-language sources: in the coming days, whether Reuters, Bloomberg, or Open Standard’s own website produce a firsthand confirmation of the “140 institutions” and “OUSD launch” claims. Until there’s independent corroboration, treat this as “unverified.”
- Circle’s official response: watch whether Circle’s transparency page and investor relations disclosures address the stock movement and competitive landscape.
- Exchange actions: whether major exchanges list OUSD trading pairs or adjust USDC/USDT conversion depth — this is the only channel that could indirectly affect cardholders’ conversion costs.
- Issuer fee announcements: whether MPCard, Bybit, and other issuers announce fee changes within 30–90 days; official fee pages always take precedence over any other source.
Editorial recommendations
- Users holding MPCard or Bybit Card who fund with USDT: no action needed. This news does not affect your top-ups, spending, or settlement.
- Users who typically route through USDC to fund their cards: no need to panic, but if you notice unusual USDC conversion depth on an exchange in the near term, switching to direct USDT top-ups avoids the issue — avoid making large conversions during periods of heightened sentiment.
- Users holding Coinbase Card or deeply involved in the USDC ecosystem: track reserve disclosures via Circle’s official transparency page as the authoritative source, and don’t adjust your holdings based on a single Korean-language report.
- Users planning to apply for a new USDT card: proceed as normal based on your needs — this event is not a reason to wait. Start with 2026 Top 5 to find the product that fits you.
When verification is insufficient, we’d rather draw fewer conclusions. The one thing genuinely certain about this news is this: competition is intensifying, and over the long run, intensifying competition is more likely to be good news for end cardholders than bad.