Visa has just reshaped the stablecoin landscape. The payments giant officially launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a system that enables banks, fintechs, and payment providers to manage digital dollars through a unified platform. In its initial phase, the platform supports Open USD - a stablecoin recently introduced by the Open Standard consortium on June 30, 2026. For Circle, the issuer of USDC, this signals one clear development: a serious new competitor has entered the arena.
Through VSP, institutions gain access to tools for minting, redeeming, custody, and transferring Open USD - equipped with Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure, blockchain connectivity, and Visa’s proprietary security and risk management systems. The service is designed to run alongside Visa’s traditional payment network, rather than replace it.
Not the Concept That’s Hard, but the Operational Reality
Jack Forestell, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Visa, highlighted the actual barriers institutions face when adopting stablecoins. “The hard part isn’t the concept, it’s the operational reality,” he said. VSP was built to address that exact pain point - providing clients with a single hub to manage all stablecoin operations backed by the controls and network infrastructure Visa already provides.
The backing is substantial. More than 140 companies supported the Open USD initiative when it was announced in late June, including heavyweight names such as Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase across the financial, tech, and crypto sectors. To put the scale into perspective, Visa previously reported a stablecoin settlement run-rate of around $7 billion as of March 2026.
Real Pressure on Circle
What makes Open USD a formidable threat to USDC is not just its corporate backing, but its economic structure. Open Standard plans to offer fee-free minting and redemptions while distributing the majority of reserve revenue to distribution partners after deducting operating expenses - a distinct model from Circle’s USDC.
Markets have already responded. Circle shares came under pressure following the Open USD announcement, and that pressure intensified this week when Mizuho downgraded Circle and slashed its price target from $85 to $50 - citing Open USD’s potential to erode Circle’s margins by altering how reserve revenue flows to distribution partners.
Even so, it is too early to count Circle out. Open USD still needs to build the liquidity, regulatory reach, and market adoption that USDC has established over many years. What changed today is its status: Open USD is no longer just a consortium proposal, but a concrete institutional payments infrastructure ready for banks and fintechs to deploy. The digital dollar race has just gained a new track - and Visa is laying it down.
Sourced from crypto.news.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
