Morning Edition · Thursday, July 2, 2026
Coinbase Backs a USD Coin Rival, and Circle's Chief Says Network Effects Decide the Fight
The company that helped create USD Coin is now supporting Open USD, exposing the tension between the firms that issue dollar tokens and those that distribute them.

Coinbase, which helped build USD Coin (USDC) with Circle, is now backing a competing dollar token called Open USD, a move that reflects a basic tension in the stablecoin business, CryptoSlate reported. Issuers take in customer cash, hold re…
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Race to Bank and Distribute Stablecoin Reserves
Over 3-6 months, established financial and payments firms compete to custody stablecoin reserves and embed stablecoin rails into cross-border settlement, institutionalizing the plumbing beneath stablecoins.
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