Financial companies join forces for US dollar stablecoin, keeping reserve earnings
A consortium of financial firms including Visa and Mastercard, together with a group of crypto companies, has announced a US dollar stablecoin initiative that plans to retain earnings generated by its reserve assets. The project, reported by Cointelegraph on June 30, 2026, positions itself as a potential challenger to the current market leaders Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC by combining major payment-rail partnerships with crypto industry participation.
Who is involved and what is proposed
According to the report, the initiative counts Visa and Mastercard among its backers and includes a number of crypto firms as participants. The distinctive feature highlighted is the consortium’s intention to keep earnings produced by the stablecoin’s reserves rather than distributing them outside the project. Details such as the precise governance structure, reserve composition, custody arrangements and which crypto firms are participating were not disclosed in the report.
Why this matters for the crypto market
Stablecoins are core plumbing for crypto markets: they provide liquidity, act as on- and off-ramps for institutional and retail flows, and are widely used on spot and derivatives venues. A stablecoin backed by global payment networks could more tightly integrate fiat payment rails with digital-asset markets, potentially lowering friction for merchant acceptance and fiat onramps. The combination of payment incumbents and crypto firms may also give the project credibility with global payments partners and merchant acquirers, increasing its chance of adoption in point-of-sale and e-commerce contexts.
Market structure could be affected if the new token achieves meaningful scale. Large stablecoins underpin trading pairs for BTC, ETH and other major assets; a new entrant with deep payment integration could shift liquidity patterns on centralized and decentralized exchanges, influence custody demand, and alter how money market-like reserves are sourced and deployed within the crypto economy.
Implications for institutions, regulation and liquidity
Institutions will likely evaluate the project on reserve transparency, custody safeguards and regulatory compliance. Stablecoin issuers are increasingly scrutinized by regulators around reserve composition, disclosure of yields on reserve assets, and the treatment of earnings. The consortium’s plan to retain reserve earnings may raise questions about revenue models and how profits are allocated, which in turn could draw attention from banking and securities regulators in multiple jurisdictions.
From a liquidity perspective, exchanges and market makers will monitor issuer credibility, redemption mechanics and on-chain settlement speeds before listing or routing significant flows through the token. Integration with payment networks could facilitate faster fiat conversions for custodians and broker-dealers, but practical outcomes depend on banking relationships, custody integration and regulatory approvals.
Major crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ether could be indirectly affected if liquidity migrates toward a new stablecoin or if trading pairs are rebalanced. Similarly, products that rely on stablecoin-collateralized exposures, including lending protocols and tokenized funds, would need to assess operational and counterparty risk associated with the new issuer.
Market participants will be watching several next steps: disclosures on reserve composition and governance, formal partnerships with exchanges and custodians, regulator feedback and pilot merchant integrations using Visa and Mastercard rails. These developments will determine whether the initiative can scale and materially reshape stablecoin market share and infrastructure.