- Hyperliquid launched its native USDH stablecoin, backed by cash and U.S. Treasuries, recording $8.8M in first-day trading.
- Native Markets secured issuance rights in a controversial vote, positioning USDH to reduce reliance on external stablecoins like USDC.
Hyperliquid has officially entered the stablecoin market with the launch of USDH, its native dollar-pegged asset. The move marks a major step in reducing reliance on external stablecoins while introducing new governance and revenue opportunities within the platform.
$USDH has hit $24M supply within 18 hours of its launch. pic.twitter.com/fZ38qkOESj
— CoinGecko (@coingecko) September 25, 2025
A Strong Debut for USDH
USDH went live on Wednesday, recording over $2 million in early trading on the USDH/USDC pair. Within 24 hours, its trading volume soared to $8.8 million, with the pair stabilizing around 1.001 in its first session.
The stablecoin is minted on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Ethereum-compatible execution layer, and will serve as collateral for traders across the network. Backed by cash and U.S. Treasury securities, its reserves are managed through Stripe’s Bridge tokenization platform.
ALSO READ:Ethena Exits Hyperliquid USDH Stablecoin Race as Community Supports Native Teams
Hyperliquid Native Markets Wins Controversial Bidding
The right to issue USDH was awarded to Native Markets following a validator vote on September 14. The startup, led by Hyperliquid investor Max Fiege, former Uniswap Labs president Mary-Catherine Lader, and blockchain researcher Anish Agnihotri, beat out established names like Paxos, Frax Finance, and Curve.
However, the bidding process drew criticism. Some industry figures argued the competition appeared designed to favor Native Markets. Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi noted that several participants felt validators were not considering alternatives fairly. Despite this, Native Markets secured over two-thirds of the votes.
Starting to feel like the USDH RFP was a bit of a farce.
Hearing from multiple bidders that none of the validators are interested in considering anyone besides Native Markets. It's not even a serious discussion, as though there was a backroom deal already done.
Native Markets'… pic.twitter.com/qrc9xChv6z
— Haseeb ＞|＜ (@hosseeb) September 9, 2025
Revenue Model Keeps Value In-House
USDH adopts a 50-50 revenue split model. Half of the reserve income funds HYPE token buybacks, while the other half supports ecosystem development. This structure ensures yield flows back into Hyperliquid’s ecosystem instead of external stablecoin issuers, potentially strengthening liquidity on the platform.
Hyperliquid Faces Rising Competition
While the USDH launch is a milestone, Hyperliquid’s market share in perpetuals trading has slipped. Daily trading volumes stand at around $10 billion, compared to Aster’s $30 billion on BNB Chain. Hyperliquid’s dominance has fallen from 70% in May to about 35% today.
At the same time, the HYPE token has dropped 7% over the past week, raising questions about long-term growth. Still, the introduction of USDH represents the platform’s first major governance milestone since decentralization and could unlock billions in future stablecoin flows.
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