Sky has become the fifth crypto project to bid for a role in helping decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid issue its new USDH stablecoin.
Co-founder Rune Christensen unveiled the proposal on Monday, offering Sky’s infrastructure to back USDH with promises of high yields and flexible token design.
“By using Sky to power USDH, the Hyperliquid community will gain unbeatable advantages that no other stablecoin project can offer,” Christensen said in his pitch.
Formerly known as Maker, Sky is behind USDS and Dai — the fourth- and fifth-largest stablecoins with a combined market value of roughly $12.5 billion. Its bid joins at least four other competing projects after Hyperliquid invited proposals last Friday.
Christensen’s plan outlines a 4.85% return on all USDH held on the platform, a rate he noted is “significantly above the T-Bill rate.” USDH would also be convertible into a version of USDS offering 4.75% yield and designed to be “natively multichain” through LayerZero integration.
Under Sky’s proposal, the Hyperliquid community would be able to tailor USDH to its needs. Christensen cited the option of configuring the stablecoin to comply with U.S. regulations, including the GENIUS Act, which prohibits issuers from paying yield.
The plan also pledges $25 million to launch a project aimed at “autonomously growing DeFi on Hyperliquid,” featuring exclusive tokens that Christensen suggested could generate “potentially billions” for the protocol.
Sky Becomes Fifth Contender
Sky’s pitch marks the fifth formal bid since Hyperliquid announced on Friday that it was seeking partners to launch a native, Hyperliquid-first stablecoin with the ticker USDH.
The earliest proposal came from Native Markets, a new venture by Hyperliquid advocate Max Fiege, which suggested using Bridge — Stripe’s stablecoin payments arm — to issue USDH. Other contenders include Frax, Paxos, and Agora, the latter backed by crypto fintech MoonPay.
VanEck Enters the Conversation
Adding to the drama, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck — father of Agora co-founder Nick van Eck — took to X on Monday to rally support for his son’s bid.
“We’d be thrilled to be a part of your community’s ecosystem,” he wrote, noting that VanEck has already engaged with HyperEVM builders and is exploring ways to support Hyperliquid.
“But we don’t like being gang-tackled,” van Eck added. “You wouldn’t want us as a partner if we were pushed around easily.”
Hyperliquid validators are set to vote on their preferred proposal following the network’s next upgrade, though no timeline has been announced.
