Hyperliquid, the decentralized derivatives exchange, launched its first native stablecoin, USDH, on Wednesday with an initial USDC trading pair. Early volumes reached nearly $2 million, giving the network a dollar-pegged asset to serve as a stable unit of account and collateral. For a protocol that has relied on external stablecoins like Circle’s USDC, the launch represents a major step in consolidating liquidity and yield within its ecosystem.
USDH is minted on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Ethereum-compatible execution layer, enabling circulation across its network. According to the proposal, the token is backed by cash and U.S. Treasury equivalents, with reserves managed through Bridge, Stripe’s tokenization platform. The issuer, Native Markets, will oversee billions in potential flows as it manages USDH’s collateral base.
Native Markets is led by Hyperliquid investor Max Fiege, former Uniswap Labs president Mary-Catherine Lader, and blockchain researcher Anish Agnihotri. The startup won issuance rights following a validator vote on Sept. 14, making USDH the first stablecoin governed by the protocol’s validator community.
The selection of Native Markets followed a heated bidding process that began on Sept. 5, when Hyperliquid opened governance for USDH’s issuance rights. Proposals poured in from Paxos, Sky, Frax Finance, Agora, Curve, OpenEden, Bitgo, and Ethena. Ethena later withdrew and endorsed Native Markets, narrowing the field. Native’s proposal included dividing reserve income equally between HYPE token buybacks and ecosystem development, which resonated with validators.
However, the process drew criticism. Dragonfly Capital’s managing partner Haseeb Qureshi argued the outcome appeared prearranged, claiming multiple bidders told him validators had no interest in considering alternatives. He added that Native Markets’ proposal appeared unusually well-timed, surfacing immediately after the Request for Proposal went live, raising concerns of advanced notice and favoritism.
Despite criticism, validators awarded Native Markets more than two-thirds of votes, handing the startup control of Hyperliquid’s first stablecoin. The win marked Hyperliquid’s most consequential governance decision since its November 2024 HYPE token airdrop.
Following the governance outcome, HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, slipped around 7% over the past week, according to CoinGecko. Traders appeared cautious amid governance concerns and intensifying competition. Hyperliquid, which processed $330 billion in July 2025 with a team of only 11 people, is now facing new challenges as rivals expand aggressively.
One of those rivals is Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on the BNB Chain. DefiLlama data showed Aster’s 24-hour perpetuals volume reached nearly $30 billion this week, more than double Hyperliquid’s $10 billion during the same period. Aster’s surge underscores the growing pressure on Hyperliquid to secure liquidity and reinforce its moat.
For Hyperliquid, the launch of USDH is meant to provide deeper liquidity, more predictable collateral, and independence from third-party stablecoin issuers. But controversy around governance and the optics of validator alignment with a brand-new startup could create reputational risks, especially as institutional players evaluate entry points into decentralized derivatives markets.
Native Markets will now focus on scaling USDH circulation, ensuring collateral quality, and managing reserve transparency through Bridge. If adoption grows, Hyperliquid could reduce dependency on external stablecoins and capture yield within its own ecosystem. At the same time, governance will remain under scrutiny as validators weigh future decisions about token economics and ecosystem incentives.
