Open USD (OUSD)

Overview

A dollar token built for business

Open USD (OUSD) is a stablecoin designed to represent the U.S. dollar on a blockchain. A stablecoin aims to keep a steady value relative to an asset such as a national currency. OUSD is built for businesses that need to receive, hold, send, or settle payments in digital dollars. It can serve as a shared payment asset across platforms rather than being tied to one company’s payment system. (joinopenstandard.com)

Open Standard governs and operates the project, while Bridge Building Inc. issues the token. Businesses can create OUSD by converting dollars into tokens and redeem those tokens for dollars at a one-to-one rate through supported providers. OUSD is available natively on Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo. That gives developers several networks on which to build payment and financial services. (joinopenstandard.com)

History & Team

From announcement to launch

Open Standard announced OUSD on June 30, 2026, and launched it on September 30, 2026. The project began with a focus on a common problem in business payments: companies want to move money across borders and between services without building a separate system for every connection. By launch, Open Standard said its network included more than 200 financial, technology, and commercial partners. (joinopenstandard.com)

Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa are Open Standard’s initial founding partners. Zach Abrams is its CEO. Before taking that role, he founded Bridge, a company that provides stablecoin issuance and payment infrastructure. Open Standard is structured as an independent company whose board represents its shareholders. Partners that help grow OUSD’s supply and use can also have an opportunity to earn equity in the company. (joinopenstandard.com)

These roles are distinct. Open Standard sets the project’s business direction and partner model. Bridge handles issuance. Other firms provide ways to access and use the token through exchanges, payment products, wallets, and developer tools. (joinopenstandard.com)

Technology & How It Works

Issuing, moving, and redeeming OUSD

OUSD begins when dollars enter an approved issuance path and corresponding tokens are minted, or created. When tokens are redeemed, they are burned, removing them from circulation as dollars are returned. Open Standard’s supported integration paths offer minting and burning at a one-to-one dollar conversion rate without a mint or redemption fee. A provider still handles the account setup and access to those services. (joinopenstandard.com)

Once issued, OUSD can move between supported blockchain addresses. A business might receive tokens from a customer, send them to another company, or use them to settle a payment. Blockchains record these transfers, while payment providers can connect the token to familiar services such as accounts, cards, and currency exchange. This combination lets OUSD work both as an on-chain asset and as part of a larger payment process. (joinopenstandard.com)

OUSD has native versions on Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo. Each network has its own token address, so a wallet or application needs to use the correct network and contract. Open Standard publishes the official addresses on its integration page. Network transaction fees are separate from the project’s no-fee minting and redemption policy. (joinopenstandard.com)

Reserves and reporting

Bridge holds reserves for OUSD using cash and U.S. Treasury investments, including money-market funds made up of short-term Treasury bills. Open Standard identifies BlackRock, Lead Bank, and BNY as institutions involved in holding the reserves. Bridge publishes reserve information and describes a monthly independent attestation process. An attestation is an accountant’s examination of reported reserve information at a stated point in time. (joinopenstandard.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply follows demand for the token

OUSD’s supply changes through minting and redemption. When eligible users convert more dollars into OUSD, new tokens are issued. When they redeem tokens, those tokens are removed. This model differs from a token created with a fixed supply that is divided among founders, investors, and users. The main purpose of OUSD is to carry dollar-denominated value through payments and financial applications. (joinopenstandard.com)

The project also has an economic model for businesses that support it. Reserves can generate earnings, and Open Standard says most reserve revenue is shared with partners that grow the token’s use, after a management fee. Partner rewards are linked to the supply and activity those businesses bring to their platforms. A company must join Open Standard as a partner to receive these rewards; simply holding OUSD does not make a wallet holder a partner. (joinopenstandard.com)

This approach gives payment providers and other businesses a reason to integrate the same asset. For readers new to stablecoins, the key distinction is between using OUSD as a dollar token and earning partner rewards by providing services that help distribute it. (joinopenstandard.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Connecting payments and financial services

OUSD is designed for banking services, cross-border transfers, settlement, and institutional trading. In a cross-border payment, for example, a provider could use a digital dollar token to move value between its systems, then use an off-ramp to deliver local currency to the recipient. In settlement, two businesses could use OUSD to complete a dollar-denominated transfer on a supported blockchain. These are examples of how the token can fit into a service, rather than separate products built into OUSD itself. (joinopenstandard.com)

Open Standard lists four main business integration paths: Stripe, Mastercard, Coinbase, and Visa. Their tools cover different tasks, including conversions, wallets, sending and receiving funds, settlement, cards, and payment orchestration. Orchestration means coordinating the steps and providers involved in moving money. Stripe also supports OUSD across products for receiving and holding funds, global payouts, card programs, payments, and customer conversions. (joinopenstandard.com)

The wider partner network includes banks, fintech companies, payment networks, merchants, and crypto firms. Their participation can help OUSD connect services that would otherwise use separate payment routes. Each business still chooses how to build the token into its own products. (joinopenstandard.com)

Advantages & Challenges

Shared infrastructure, varied requirements

OUSD’s central advantage is its shared design. Multiple companies can build around one dollar token, while eligible partners can take part in its economics and corporate direction. Free minting and redemption can also simplify the cost of converting between dollars and tokens for businesses using the supported paths. Native support on four blockchains gives builders a choice of networks. (joinopenstandard.com)

The same broad design creates work for the ecosystem. A payment product must connect the correct blockchain, wallet, provider, and destination. Businesses operating in several countries also have to meet different access rules. Open Standard’s partner-led governance gives major participants a voice, while the board and shareholder structure must bring their different interests together. These practical questions matter as much as the token transfer itself when OUSD is used in an everyday payment service. (joinopenstandard.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

Exchanges and supported storage

Open USD can be purchased on Kraken and Coinbase. Open Standard also names Uniswap among the exchange venues for OUSD. Exchange access and supported networks depend on the platform and location. Businesses can obtain OUSD through supported provider integrations, including Stripe, Mastercard, Coinbase, and Visa, with provider onboarding for minting and redemption. (blog.kraken.com)

OUSD can be held in a wallet that supports its token and blockchain. Stripe identifies Privy as a way for developers to add OUSD to digital wallet experiences, while Coinbase’s integration includes wallet services. For a direct blockchain transfer, the sending platform and receiving wallet must use the same supported network. Open Standard’s published contract addresses identify the native token on each chain. (stripe.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Issuance and geographic access

Bridge Building Inc. issues OUSD in the United States. A proposed Bridge National Trust Bank received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in February 2026. That bank remains in organization; Bridge Building Inc. is the OUSD issuer. U.S. stablecoin rules are developing under the GENIUS Act, which addresses matters such as reserves and issuer oversight. (withbridge.com)

Access also varies by jurisdiction. Open Standard’s rules exclude the European Economic Area from the places where network partners may promote OUSD. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, sets rules for stablecoin issuers and crypto-asset service providers. Open Standard also lists other excluded locations and prohibited uses in its partner rules. (joinopenstandard.com)

Open Standard has not announced a Shariah certification for OUSD. Its reserve model includes U.S. Treasury investments, and partner rewards draw on reserve earnings. Because Islamic finance principles prohibit interest, those features are relevant to a Shariah assessment. The treatment of holding or using the token for a particular payment depends on the transaction and the religious assessment applied to it. (reserves.bridge.xyz)

Future Outlook

Building on the launch

OUSD’s development centers on making one token useful across more business workflows. Its existing integrations show how it can connect blockchain transfers with payment accounts, conversions, cards, and payouts. Open Standard’s partner model is intended to give companies that build those connections both a role in the project and a share of the economic value they help create. (joinopenstandard.com)

Further use will depend on how smoothly those services work together. For many businesses, the goal is straightforward: send and receive dollars through products they already use, while the underlying systems handle the blockchain steps. OUSD’s four native networks and range of provider tools offer a foundation for that approach. (joinopenstandard.com)

Summary

Open USD is a dollar-backed stablecoin built as shared infrastructure for business payments. Bridge issues it, Open Standard governs its partner network, and providers connect it to wallets, exchanges, and financial services. Its defining features are one-to-one minting and redemption, native support on several blockchains, and a model that shares reserve earnings with participating businesses. Together, these features place OUSD at the meeting point of on-chain money and everyday payment systems. (joinopenstandard.com)