#OUSD稳定币上线 Will OUSD challenge Circle and Tether?

Over 140 financial institutions jointly launched OUSD, breaking Circle's profit monopoly model and causing its stock price to plummet 17.55%.
Some observers used the Sad Frog emoji on social media to describe Circle's situation.
In response, Circle Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that as the internet continues to reshape global fund storage and transfer infrastructure, stablecoins will become one of the largest market opportunities globally, which is also the core reason why Circle was founded and continues to build the world's largest compliant stablecoin network. USDC remains the most trusted, widely used, institution-focused stablecoin globally, currently with thousands of partners across banking, payments, capital markets, and enterprise sectors.
Circle will continue to expand the USDC ecosystem, including supporting more blockchain networks, enhancing cross-chain interoperability, and driving more partners to participate in sharing the economic value of the USDC network. Circle welcomes ongoing innovation and competition in the stablecoin space and will continue to expand support for more USD and non-USD stablecoins across its Arc, CCTP, StableFX, Circle Wallets, and CPN offerings, promoting the construction of a stablecoin-centric internet financial system. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino also posted on X: Welcome to OUSD. Player 2 has entered the game.

The launch of OUSD has undoubtedly brought significant impact to Circle and Tether.
In the era of Circle and Tether, stablecoin competition mainly focused on three dimensions: asset security, regulatory compliance, and liquidity adequacy. However, OUSD's introduction proposes a fourth competitive dimension—who should the reserve income belong to. For Circle and Tether, the core logic is essentially the same: users deposit $1, the issuer issues 1 stablecoin, and the reserve funds are invested in low-risk assets such as U.S. Treasuries, with interest accruing to the issuer. In a high-interest-rate environment in the U.S., this logic has generated staggering profits. According to the plan announced by Open Standard mentioned above: the vast majority of reserve income will not remain with the issuing institution but will be returned to alliance members. Stripe, Visa, Coinbase, BlackRock, and more future partners will all be able to share the income generated by OUSD's reserve assets. Open Standard itself only charges a small management fee. The issuing institution transforms from a profit center into an infrastructure operator—this is the biggest difference between OUSD and USDC/USDT.
After this news was released, Circle suffered the most impact—its stock price plummeted 17.55%.
First, Circle will face the dilemma of reduced profits. OUSD's approach of allocating income to the issuer upon launch may prompt Circle to change its operational model of retaining reserve income for itself, possibly leading to a path of profit sharing.
Second, the OUSD alliance includes giants like Coinbase, Visa, and Stripe, which happen to be Circle's cooperating clients. Given that allocating income to the issuer could benefit these clients, Circle may lose some existing customers.
Finally, the institutional cooperation model at which Circle excels has been easily replicated by the OUSD alliance, and OUSD offers profit sharing that Circle lacks. Circle's current business model may need to be restructured based on the latest competitive landscape in the stablecoin track—this triggered the sharp decline in Circle's stock price, which is actually the market reassessing Circle's future value. Tether seems not to have suffered a major impact for now, but that does not mean there will be no effect in the long term.
Unlike USDC, USDT has more advantages in liquidity, with global crypto trading serving as its formidable moat, a position OUSD will find difficult to achieve in the short term. Moreover, OUSD focuses more on institutional payments, merchant settlement, and cross-border remittances, so the short-term competition between the two does not entirely overlap. Additionally, Tether has long been known for its strong profitability. In 2024, Tether earned over $13 billion in profit, and in 2025, over $10 billion. It has only about 300 employees, no external investors, and does not charge transaction fees for USDT transfers on the secondary market, meaning each employee generates approximately $33 million in profit annually on average. If profit sharing becomes necessary in future competition, Tether would have a greater advantage in price wars than Circle.
Therefore, although OUSD has caused Circle's stock price to plummet in the short term, it will not immediately disrupt the existing stablecoin track. In the coming period, we may see a tripartite situation with USDT, USDC, and OUSD.

Voices from industry insiders
Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Cuy Sheffield noted that the company is bringing its operational standards and risk management practices to the OUSD project.
Stripe's President of Technology and Business Will Gaybrick pointed out that OUSD will become the default stablecoin for enterprises using its platform. The Bank of New York emphasized the value of neutral, interoperable digital asset infrastructure for institutional investors.
Coinbase Chief Business Officer Shan Agrawal stated that stablecoins are the most important thing in payments today, and we are committed to providing customers with the best choices, including Open USD and other stablecoins. Farcaster Co-founder Dan Romero: The most noteworthy aspect of OUSD is its massive distribution capability. Fiat on-ramps and off-ramps determine whether a stablecoin can become a true payment network, and OUSD has had world-leading channel resources from day one.
DoorDash Co-founder Andy Fang pointed out that cross-border income access is faster and cheaper.

Conclusion
For the stablecoin track, OUSD is more like a rule breaker. It may not immediately change the landscape of the track, but it could alter its future direction. The winner may not be the issuer with the largest reserve assets, but the infrastructure platform that can build a complete ecosystem and connect the global financial network.