Open USD partner list disputed by Samsung and others

Several companies that appear on the public partner list for the Open USD consortium deny agreeing to join the group backing a planned stablecoin. The consortium behind Open USD, Open Standard, has said more than 140 companies and institutions support the project.

Tony Chung, who first flagged the discrepancy after identifying 13 Korean firms on the list, reported that Samsung Electronics told him it had not held formal talks and did not know what role, if any, it would have. Shinhan, Dunamu and K Bank indicated they were asked about possible participation and told Open Standard they would “consider it,” but later found their names listed as members.

Tether advisor Gabor Gurbacs, after speaking with several named organizations, reported none had signed contracts or formally agreed to participate. He added one firm was only told payment networks such as Stripe and Visa might change terms in the future to accept a new stablecoin, without any binding agreement. “Either the media deeply twisted something or the participant list is misleading,” Gurbacs said.

Raphaël Bloch, chief executive of The Big Whale, said his outreach showed little internal awareness of the initiative at some firms. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire posted, “Integrity matters.”

Open Standard has not publicly explained how it compiled the partner list or addressed the denials. At the time of reporting, the disputed companies remained on the public list and said they would revisit the project if it developed into a concrete proposal. Open USD is expected to launch later this year.