Coinbase will manage USDC liquidity on Hyperliquid and acquire the USDH brand assets as the native stablecoin sunsets after failing to gain traction against $5 billion in USDC.
Posted May 15, 2026 at 5:33 am EST.
Coinbase became Hyperliquid’s official treasury deployer for USDC on Thursday, acquiring the right to purchase the brand assets of USDH, the Hyperliquid-native stablecoin developed by Native Markets. USDH will sunset gradually as the decentralized exchange consolidates around USDC.
The deal deepens Coinbase’s role inside one of the largest onchain perpetuals venues. Coinbase will deploy USDC under Hyperliquid’s Aligned Quote Asset framework, managing liquidity across the platform’s spot, perpetual futures, and HIP-4 outcome-based markets.
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Under the upgraded AQAv2 model, Coinbase will share the vast majority of USDC reserve yields with the protocol, a significant shift in stablecoin economics that could pressure other ecosystems to negotiate similar arrangements. Both Coinbase and Circle have committed to staking HYPE tokens to support AQAv2 activation.
Circle will serve separately as the technical deployer, overseeing Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol services and native cross-chain infrastructure. Circle also said it plans to stake 500,000 HYPE tokens, adding to an earlier position established in September 2025, as it moves toward becoming a Hyperliquid validator.
The numbers explain why USDH is sunsetting. USDC supply on Hyperliquid has doubled year over year to roughly $5 billion, commanding the vast majority of stablecoin activity on the platform. USDH, which launched in September 2025 after a competitive governance vote among stablecoin issuers, never gained meaningful traction, with supply stalling around $100 million. Native Markets will continue to facilitate feeless USDH-to-USDC conversions and fiat redemptions during the transition.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote on X that “USDC is becoming the standard across crypto markets.” The Hyper Foundation said it will provide grants to eligible deployers and builders to support a smooth migration. HYPE traded at roughly $44 Thursday, up 12% on the day.
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