Samsung, Dunamu Deny Formal Agreement to Join OUSD Stablecoin Group

Several major South Korean companies say they were named as members of a new dollar pegged stablecoin group without ever giving their formal approval, raising questions about how the consortium was put together.

Companies Say They Were Never Properly Consulted

An official from Samsung Electronics told local reporters that no real discussions took place before the company’s name appeared on the list, and that it remains unclear what part, if any, Samsung would actually play. Other firms, including Shinhan Financial Group, Dunamu, and Kbank, said they were simply asked whether they might be interested and replied that they would think it over, only to later find themselves listed as official members. One unnamed company said it was caught off guard, having only given a vague, noncommittal response before being included.

What the OUSD Project Involves

The stablecoin initiative, backed by more than 140 participants including Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock, was announced earlier this week with plans to launch within the year. Unlike typical crypto structures, it isn’t organized as a decentralized network or shareholder model. Instead, companies can create the token by depositing dollars into a reserve account and redeem it freely without fees. Revenue earned from managing those reserves would be shared among partner companies, a different approach compared to how existing stablecoin issuers operate.

Dollar-Pegged Stablecoins Keep Growing

The broader stablecoin market has now surpassed 291 billion dollars in total value, with two major players continuing to dominate the space.