#Circle股价重挫17% U.S. financial giant teams up with 140 companies to launch a stablecoin — why did Circle's stock plummet?

On the evening of June 30 Beijing time, Open Standard announced the launch of a U.S. dollar stablecoin called Open USD (OUSD). Reuters reported that Open Standard has brought together over 140 enterprises to issue a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, Open USD. The stablecoin is still in the announcement phase, with officials stating it will be launched within the year. Open Standard founder and CEO Zach Abrams said that while existing stablecoins have their advantages, for enterprises to use stablecoins at scale, they need a product that is open, low-cost, high-throughput, widely accessible, and aligned with their own interests. Reuters reported that Open USD will allow enterprises to mint and redeem without cost and without limits on issuance size, and the returns generated from Open USD's reserve assets will be shared with participants after deducting management fees.

Participants cover payments, banking, technology, and crypto industries
Open Standard announced that participants span multiple sectors including payments, fintech, traditional finance, technology, e-commerce, and crypto. Reuters reported that the coalition includes companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase; CoinDesk reported that Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa, and BlackRock are launch partners for the project. The Wall Street Journal reported that BlackRock, Google, Coinbase, Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard are involved, and Open USD plans to be available on Base, Solana, and other networks. It's worth noting that the participant list does not necessarily mean product integration is complete.

A more accurate description is that these institutions have joined the Open Standard or Open USD ecosystem and may collaborate in the future on stablecoin issuance, payments, settlements, merchant services, trading, and on-chain applications. Core mechanisms of Open USD: zero fees, revenue sharing, alliance governance
The first mechanism of Open USD is zero-fee minting and redemption.
Reuters reported that Open USD will allow enterprises to mint and redeem at no cost and without issuance size limits. This design is primarily aimed at enterprise-level payments, settlements, and fund flow scenarios. The second mechanism is reserve revenue sharing. Reuters reported that the returns generated from Open USD's reserve assets will be shared with participants after deducting management fees. CoinDesk also reported that Open Standard's Open USD allows partners to retain reserve income and eliminates minting fees — a design that challenges Circle's USDC model.
The third mechanism is alliance governance. Reuters reported that Open Standard aims to expand stablecoin usage through open, low-cost, and neutral governance. For payment companies, exchanges, banks, e-commerce platforms, and on-chain applications, this means they are not just users of stablecoins but may also become participants in revenue and governance.

Why does Open USD impact Circle?
After the Open USD announcement, the market first focused on Circle. This is because Circle is the issuer of USDC, one of the most prominent U.S. dollar stablecoins on the market.
In Circle's revenue structure, reserve income accounts for a very high proportion. Open USD's revenue-sharing model directly targets Circle's core revenue source.
Circle's Q1 2026 financial report shows that as of the end of Q1, USDC circulation was $77 billion, up 28% year-over-year; USDC on-chain transaction volume in Q1 was $21.5 trillion, up 263% year-over-year. In the same quarter, Circle's total revenue and reserve income were $694 million, up 20% year-over-year; reserve income alone was $653 million, up 17% year-over-year. Circle also disclosed that total distribution, transaction, and other costs for Q1 were $407 million, up 17% year-over-year, mainly due to increased distribution payments.
These figures show that Circle's revenue is closely tied to USDC circulation size and reserve asset returns. If Open USD allocates more reserve returns to partners, the market will reassess the distribution model for stablecoin industry returns. For investors, the question is not whether Open USD will replace USDC in the short term, but whether stablecoin reserve returns will shift from issuers to payment networks, exchanges, wallets, e-commerce platforms, and other distribution channels. CoinDesk reported that the threat of Open USD to Circle lies in its challenge to Circle's business model.
CoinDesk stated that Circle mainly relies on retaining interest income from USDC reserve assets, while Open USD plans to distribute that income to partners. CoinDesk also cited Dragonfly general partner Rob Hadick's view that Open USD's partnership list represents a realistic threat to Circle's business.

CRCL fell 17.52% in a single day
After the Open USD announcement, Circle's stock price dropped significantly. Market data shows that as of the close on June 30 U.S. local time, Circle Internet Group (CRCL) closed at $62.63, down approximately 17.52% from the previous trading day. The Block reported that Circle's stock fell more than 16% after the Open USD announcement. The report noted that investors are assessing the potential competitive pressure Open USD poses to USDC.
The Block also cited William Blair analysts' view that market concerns over Open USD may be exaggerated, as Circle's first-mover advantage, liquidity, and payment infrastructure still position it well.
CoinDesk also reported that the emergence of Open USD will intensify market scrutiny of Circle's economic model and its partnership with Coinbase, while also indicating that stablecoin competition is shifting toward distribution platforms like exchanges, payment processors, and wallets. Apart from the expected business competition from Open USD, some reports also mentioned that index adjustments may have impacted CRCL's short-term trading, but based on reports from Reuters, CoinDesk, and The Block, Open USD remained one of the day's primary market narratives.