CoinShares: Open USD May Become Biggest Competitive Threat to Circle's USDC to Date

CoinShares stated that the stablecoin project Open USD, driven by a bank-backed consortium, may directly impact the distribution economic model and profit margins of Circle's USDC, as it plans to distribute reserve yields to participating partners rather than primarily retaining them for the issuer. The report suggests that this mechanism could increase the costs for USDC to maintain its circulation network and, after launching in the second half of 2026, exert more substantial competitive pressure on Circle.