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Visa launches Open USD
Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) as an enterprise system that lets banks, fintechs and payment providers issue, hold and transfer stablecoins through Visa’s payments network.
“Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition Visa launched a stablecoin platform that lets banks and fintechs issue, manage and settle digital dollars through its payments network”
In a blog post on Thursday, Visa said VSP “combines stablecoin minting, redemption, wallet infrastructure, and treasury management into a single enterprise system,” aiming to integrate stablecoin operations into existing payment and settlement workflows rather than requiring institutions to build their own blockchain infrastructure.
The platform initially supports Open USD (Open USD, OUSD), a dollar-pegged stablecoin introduced by the Open Standard consortium in June, and it is entering beta with select customers before a wider rollout.
Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said, “With the Visa Stablecoin Platform, we're giving our clients a single place to mint, move, and manage stablecoin operations with the controls, security, and network reach they already expect from Visa.”
Rivalry hits Circle
Visa’s Open USD platform announcement triggered a market reaction in crypto-linked equities, with Circle Internet (CRCL) shares dropping over 5% in midday trade on Thursday while Visa stock gained over 1.5%.
Stocktwits also tied the move to pressure on crypto-linked equities as Bitcoin struggled to remain above the $65,000 mark, trading at around $64,400 after hitting an intra-day high of over $65,100.
The competition angle centered on Open USD as a rival to Circle’s USDC after Open USD’s late-June launch, with Stocktwits describing it as pressuring Circle’s core business.
Clear Street analyst Owen Lau initiated coverage of Visa with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $403 price target, framing Visa as “the world's largest open-loop retail payments network” and a “toll-taker” on the shift from cash to digital payments.
What’s at stake next
Visa’s stablecoin push is positioned as a way to expand stablecoin usage across its network of about 15,000 financial institutions and more than 200 million merchants, with the platform launching with OUSD as the strategic starting point.
“- $ONDO is trading at the $0”
Fortune reported that Visa settles roughly $15 trillion in payments annually and already processes several billion dollars in stablecoin settlements, and it said the company hopes to grow that by offering a simpler way for its network to use stablecoins.
Rubail Birwadker told Fortune, “It’s less about accessing stablecoins and more about how… this interoperate[s] with their treasury settlement, their money movement workflows, [and] their existing bank setups.”
The platform’s rollout also raises competitive stakes for Circle and Coinbase as Open USD is backed by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock, while Circle’s USDC faces pressure tied to investor concerns about new revenue-sharing models.
