Stripe is bringing stablecoin issuance into the enterprise perimeter. The subsidiary Bridge, recently acquired by Stripe, has introduced Open Issuance, a platform that allows companies to create and manage dollar-pegged tokens, with shared liquidity and integrated compliance tools.
The debut was officially announced by Stripe and covered by the national financial press StripeCNBC. According to data collected during the rollout and from official communications, Open Issuance is designed to enable programmable mint and burn and integrations with conventional treasury systems.
Industry analysts note that, in pilot projects followed in 2025, the average technical integration and compliance times were less than a week in many implementations.
- Rapid go-live: issuance and operational management in just a few days, with integrated technical and legal support.
- One-for-one liquidity: equal exchanges between stablecoins issued on the same network, to facilitate immediate adoption.
- Institutional reserves: management of reserves in cash and US Treasury, with custody and audit conducted by partners like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments [data to be verified].
Open Issuance: what it is and why it is relevant now
Bridge, recently integrated into Stripe, offers a suite for the issuance of stablecoins to penetrate the world of payments and on-chain finance.
The goal is to reduce dependence on a few dominant issuers and standardize security, compliance, and operations across different blockchains.
The rollout comes in a context of strong demand for dollar-pegged tokens and increasing regulatory scrutiny, with proposals like the GENIUS Act and the Stable Act in the United States, currently under discussion in Congress (Congress.gov).
In this context, the platform’s modular approach allows companies to customize the network, smart contract functionalities, and reserve structure, integrating them with existing treasury systems.
How it works: issuance, reserves, and interoperability
The platform provides APIs and dashboards for controlled mint and burn operations, as well as the management of access lists, limits, and transfer policies.
The reserves, which may include cash liquidity and investments in US Treasuries, are held in a segregated manner and subjected to independent audits. Additionally, the operational flow and logs are tracked to ensure transparency and compliance with AML standards.
The shared liquidity model provides one-for-one swaps between stablecoins issued on Open Issuance, mitigating the “cold start” effect for new tokens and promoting interoperability between wallets, exchanges, and DeFi applications.
Initial Adoption: The First Use Cases
Phantom, the well-known wallet with over 15 million users [data to be verified], is the first major adopter and has launched CASH, a stablecoin designed for payments and DeFi applications. Yet, other tokens in migration or announced include USDH by Hyperliquid and mUSD by MetaMask, along with projects like Dakota, Slash, Lava, and Takenos.
Bridge ensures that a new issuance can be operational in a few days, with end-to-end management that includes security, reserves, compliance, and integration with the liquidity network.
Shared Liquidity: the Knot Open Issuance Wants to Untie
The concentration of volumes among a few large issuers has made it difficult for new players to launch tokens with adequate liquidity. The mechanism of equal swaps between stablecoins on the same network aims to reduce spreads and launch times, making tokens usable from day one.
For the reserves, institutional partners such as BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Superstate have been mentioned for cash and Treasury solutions [data to be verified]. That said, the details regarding mandates and investment vehicles remain in the definition phase.
Stablecoin Market Numbers (updated as of September 30, 2025)
- Market Capitalization: approximately $300 billion (market estimates, comparison among different aggregators in September 2025).
- Net flows 6 months: $56.5 billion, of which almost $46 billion in the third quarter (data from sector, to be verified with market reports).
- Supply per chain: approximately $171 billion on Ethereum and $76 billion on Tron (estimates from on-chain data aggregators, to be verified).
According to industry sources, despite the growth of capital, the use of stablecoins shows uneven adoption across different blockchains, with migrations towards networks characterized by lower costs and regulated yield instruments.
Regulatory Framework: What Changes Between the USA, EU, and Australia
In the United States, regulatory proposals like the GENIUS Act and the Stable Act aim to introduce requirements related to reserves, audits, and AML controls for payment stablecoins.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also examining the use of tokens as collateral. In Australia, targeted exemptions have been introduced for stablecoin distributors (details under definition [data to be verified]).
In Europe, regulators remain cautious, highlighting the risks associated with cross-border issuances and liquidity concentration, elements that could influence reserve models and token passporting.
Usage Trends and Estimates for 2030
Market data shows robust inflows, but also signs of contraction in usage: monthly active addresses have recorded a 22% decline, settling at 26 million, while transfer volumes have decreased by 11%, to $3.17 trillion (estimates available as of September 2025).
Additionally, Citi has estimated that the stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion in a base scenario, with the possibility of reaching up to $4 trillion in a bull scenario (estimates published by financial institutions, to be verified in official reports).
Implications for Companies: Why It Matters
- Liquidity: one-for-one exchanges between stablecoins reduce initial friction and facilitate user adoption.
- Compliance: the integrated functions for KYC/AML, audit, and policy facilitate integration with existing financial systems.
- Risks: the risk of dependency on a few custodians and asset managers remains, along with the possibility of cross-border regulatory constraints.
Mint/Burn Procedures and Operational Security
Open Issuance integrates workflow for mint and burn operations along with access controls, multi-role approvals, and activity logs to ensure regulatory compliance.
KYC/AML modules, reserve segregation, and continuous audits are functional to reduce operational errors and counterparty risks.
The responsibility for the token economy – including redemption rules and reserve transparency – lies with the issuer, while protocol governance and relationships with custody partners are essential to strengthen market trust.
Risks and Unknowns
Despite the shared liquidity network potentially mitigating the “cold start” effect, competition from established leaders remains a challenge.
Uncertainties persist regarding the necessary authorizations, the prudential treatment of reserves, and interoperability between different jurisdictions.
Centralizing reserves with a few large managers could instead introduce concentration risks, which is why it will be essential to verify the alignment between regulatory requirements, independent audits, and periodic disclosures.