Coinbase is expanding its role in the Hyperliquid ecosystem by becoming the official treasury deployer of USDC on the network, a move that places the stablecoin at the center of Hyperliquid’s aligned quote asset strategy. The transition also includes terms giving Coinbase the right to purchase USDH brand assets from Native Markets, while USDH markets remain operational during a planned wind-down.
Coinbase Becomes USDC Deployer on Hyperliquid
Coinbase announced that it is becoming the official treasury deployer of USDC on Hyperliquid, describing the move as an expansion of its support for onchain markets. In its announcement, Coinbase said 24/7 onchain markets require collateral that is “always available, instantly transferable, and deeply liquid,” positioning USDC as the stablecoin intended to meet that role across Hyperliquid’s trading environment.
In a blog post, Coinbase framed the integration around Hyperliquid’s Aligned Quote Asset, or AQA, framework. The company said USDC has been the leading stablecoin on Hyperliquid since the network’s 2023 launch and has grown to roughly $5 billion on the platform, representing about 2x year-over-year growth.
“Today, we’re excited to announce that Coinbase is expanding its support for USDC on Hyperliquid by becoming the official treasury deployer of USDC as an Aligned Quote Asset (AQA). This integration solidifies USDC’s role as the preferred stablecoin underlying onchain capital markets.”
Hyperliquid said Coinbase plans to activate AQAv2 on USDC as treasury deployer, while Circle will serve as the technical deployer responsible for CCTP and native cross-chain infrastructure. Hyperliquid also said both Coinbase and Circle have committed to stake HYPE to activate AQAv2, and Coinbase separately said it had “significantly increased” its position of staked HYPE.
Coinbase’s role as treasury deployer also carries protocol-level economics. Hyperliquid said Coinbase, in that role, will share the “vast majority” of reserve yield revenue with the protocol, making USDC “the most aligned stablecoin on Hyperliquid.” The network added that canonical outcome markets under HIP-4 will use USDC as the quote asset in a future network upgrade.
Coinbase presented the move as part of a broader push to support stablecoin liquidity and builders on HyperEVM. The company also emphasized its position as co-founder and major distribution partner of USDC, saying it remains focused on driving USDC adoption onchain.
“As 24/7 onchain capital markets grow, concentrating liquidity with USDC – which is always available and instantly transferable – improves market efficiency and allows capital to flow freely with fewer conversions. Market participants can leverage USDC’s global network of venues and fiat on and off ramps, including Coinbase, further unifying a cohesive global marketplace.”
USDH Wind-Down Sets Path for USDC Migration
The transition also affects USDH, the Hyperliquid-native stablecoin effort associated with Native Markets. Coinbase said Native Markets has agreed to terms granting Coinbase the right to purchase the USDH brand assets, while Hyperliquid said Native Markets’ work helped establish the mechanics behind AQAv2.
USDH markets remain fully functional during the transition, but they are expected to sunset over time. Coinbase said USDH remains fully backed, and users will be able to convert USDH to USDC or redeem for fiat without fees through Native Markets’ USDH Dashboard at USDH.com over the coming months.
“Native Markets pioneered the concept of a network-integrated stablecoin via Hyperliquid’s AQA framework as part of its work to provide Hyperliquid users with a first-class stablecoin platform. Building on Native Markets’ and USDH’s foundations, Coinbase will take on the role of an AQA deployer. As part of this transition, Native Markets has agreed to terms granting Coinbase the right to purchase the USDH brand assets.”
Hyperliquid said the shift responds to user and builder feedback that liquidity fragmentation had degraded the experience on the network. With USDC positioned as both the main liquidity venue and protocol-aligned stablecoin, Hyperliquid said the community “no longer needs to choose between liquidity and protocol alignment.”
The Hyper Foundation will provide grants to eligible HIP-3 deployers, HIP-1 deployers, and builders that integrated USDH, supporting migration work over the coming months. Hyperliquid said those grants reflect its ongoing commitment to teams building on the network and aligning with the protocol.
“The pioneering work of Native Markets in launching USDH as the first production-scale stablecoin sharing yield directly with a protocol in a purely onchain implementation made AQAv2 possible. The learnings and mechanics pioneered by USDH will live on in AQAv2.”
For traders and builders, the practical result is a staged migration rather than an immediate shutdown. USDH remains usable and redeemable while USDC becomes the center of Hyperliquid’s aligned stablecoin architecture, with Coinbase handling treasury deployment and Circle providing the technical cross-chain infrastructure.
Coinbase’s appointment as USDC treasury deployer marks a significant consolidation of stablecoin liquidity on Hyperliquid, pairing exchange distribution, protocol yield alignment, and Circle’s cross-chain infrastructure. The USDH wind-down gives existing users and builders a migration path, while Hyperliquid moves toward making USDC the quote asset for future canonical outcome markets under HIP-4.
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.