Thomas Daniels
Circle, the issuer behind USD Coin (USDC), has expanded its strategic footprint in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector by deploying native USDC on Hyperliquid and acquiring a stake in the network’s native token, HYPE. The company is also evaluating the potential to join the network’s validator set—an increasingly competitive arena in blockchain governance.
Following its public listing on June 5, Circle has taken decisive steps to broaden USDC’s native availability. With this move, USDC is now live on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s smart contract platform, enabling seamless deposits into the protocol’s spot and perpetuals exchange layer known as HyperCore.
The expansion aligns with Circle’s previously stated roadmap, reinforcing its commitment to deep DeFi integration and native multi-chain support. The company’s spokesperson characterized the launch as a continuation of efforts to build core infrastructure for permissionless financial systems.
Meanwhile, competition among stablecoin issuers is escalating on Hyperliquid. In a recent protocol-wide selection process, validators—who stake HYPE tokens to secure the network and vote on governance matters—chose Native Markets to issue Hyperliquid’s upcoming native stablecoin, USDH. This decision followed proposals from a wide range of industry participants, including Paxos, Frax, Sky, Agora, Ethena, OpenEden, BitGo, and others.
Native Markets’ proposal includes a dual-reserve model, combining both on-chain and off-chain assets, with reserve yields split between HYPE token buybacks and incentives for driving USDH adoption. A test launch will include capped minting and redemption features before scaling to broader integration, including a USDH/USDC trading pair.
Currently, more than 430 million HYPE tokens are staked across the network. The active validator set—made up of the top 21 stakeholders—includes names such as Galaxy Digital, Flowdex, and the Hyper Foundation.
These developments highlight the growing pressure among blockchain networks to reduce reliance on external stablecoins like USDC and USDT, while simultaneously creating incentives for ecosystem-native financial primitives. For Circle, deeper integration into Hyperliquid not only strengthens its infrastructure play but also positions USDC in a rapidly maturing DeFi environment.
