Upbit rejects Open USD role after stablecoin partner claims

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has rejected claims that it is participating in the issuance of Open USD after being listed among more than 140 organizations associated with the proposed stablecoin.

According to a statement issued by Upbit, the exchange has not agreed to issue or help launch the dollar-backed stablecoin, despite its operator, Dunamu, appearing on Open Standard’s published list of participating businesses. The company said it had only expressed a willingness to consider joining the OpenStandard ecosystem if it expands in the future.

The clarification follows similar statements from several South Korean companies that were also named by Open Standard earlier this week. Those responses have raised new questions about how many organizations have formally committed to the project after Open Standard introduced OUSD as a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar.

South Korean firms deny formal participation

Following Samsung Electronics’ earlier response, more companies have now distanced themselves from Open Standard’s announcement. As reported by crypto.news, Samsung said it had not held formal discussions with the project and did not know what role it was expected to play.

Dunamu, Shinhan Bank and K-Bank also confirmed they had received inquiries from Open Standard but said they were still reviewing the proposal and had not approved participation.

Those statements differ from Open Standard’s announcement on Tuesday, which described more than 140 organizations, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Samsung Electronics and Dunamu, as businesses that had “signed up to use” OUSD.

The project also described many of those companies as founding partners that would participate in governance and share income generated from the stablecoin’s reserve assets.

Open Standard has also said participating businesses would be able to mint and redeem OUSD without paying fees or facing volume limits. According to the project’s announcement, earnings generated from reserve assets would be distributed among participating companies.

Regulatory uncertainty continues to cloud commitments

Outside the consortium debate, industry figures have questioned parts of Open Standard’s proposal. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire previously raised concerns about whether free, unlimited minting and redemption could be maintained over time.

Separately, ARK Invest research director Lorenzo Valente described the announcement as a “giant” letter of intent, suggesting many of the listed relationships may still be preliminary rather than finalized.

South Korea’s regulatory position has added another layer of uncertainty. The country has not yet passed the Digital Asset Basic Act, leaving unresolved who will be allowed to issue stablecoins and what role different businesses can legally perform within such networks.

As crypto.news previously reported, lawmakers have continued debating whether stablecoin issuance should be limited to banks or extended to qualified non-bank companies. Until those rules are finalized, questions remain over licensing requirements, reserve management standards and the responsibilities of companies joining stablecoin ecosystems.

With several listed organizations now publicly stating that discussions remain preliminary, Open Standard’s published consortium has come under closer scrutiny as companies continue evaluating whether to participate once South Korea’s regulatory framework becomes clearer.