Circle shares tumble over 15% after Open USD stablecoin launch by Stripe, Visa and partners

On 30 June 2026, Open Standard, a newly created consortium, introduced Open USD, a fee‑free stablecoin backed by a network of more than 140 firms, including Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY Mellon, DBS, Standard Chartered, Coinbase, Aave, Google and Shopify. The token allows unlimited minting and redemption without fees and redistributes reserve earnings to participating partners after a small management charge, with governance handled by an independent council of the partners.

The announcement triggered an immediate market reaction. Circle’s shares, listed on the NYSE under the ticker CRCL, fell between 13 % and 17 % in the days following the launch, reaching a four‑month low. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company will continue focusing on building its network, while Open Standard’s founder Zach Abrams positioned the project as a competitive alternative to existing stablecoins such as USDC and Tether.