Open USD, which knocked Circle’s share price down by 17%, claims to be backed by 140 companies, but is now collapsing.
On July 3, the Korean Chosun Ilbo reported that Samsung Electronics said it has never had formal negotiations with Open Standard and is unclear about its role in the alliance.
The statements from Upbit’s parent company Dunamu, Shinhan Financial, and K Bank were consistent: they only received an expression of interest and replied that they would consider it, yet the next day they saw themselves listed as OUSD alliance members in the news. Dunamu learned of its inclusion only through domestic media.
VanEck’s Gabor Gurbacs tweeted that several companies on the list are his clients; he called them directly and they said they never signed or agreed to anything. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire later replied with just two words: “Integrity issues.”
The statements from OUSD’s core backers Stripe and Coinbase appear substantive so far; Stripe said OUSD will become the platform’s default stablecoin, and Coinbase confirmed it will be deployed on the Base chain.
However, the credibility of the 140-company figure needs to be heavily discounted.
Circle’s 17% plunge on June 30 was partly based on an exaggerated competitive threat. Circle’s share price has since partially recovered.
