USDH Stablecoin Goes Live on Hyperliquid with $2.2M Early Trading Volume – Can it Replace Tether?

Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin, USDH, launched on September 23 with $2.2 million in early trading volume.

The launch follows Native Markets’ victory in a competitive governance vote that saw the startup defeat established players, including Paxos and Ethena Labs, for the right to issue USDH on the decentralized exchange.

Trading commenced with a USDH/USDC spot pair on HyperCore, while Native Markets reported over $15 million in pre-minted tokens prepared for initial distribution.

The stablecoin maintained its $1.00 peg during early trading sessions, fluctuating only to $1.001 as market participants tested the new asset’s liquidity and stability mechanisms.

Native Markets Begins Controlled USDH Rollout

Native Markets structured the launch as a gradual expansion, initially capping individual transactions at $800 per user while core functions undergo real-world testing.

“USDH is now live for all Hyperliquid users,” the company announced on social media, highlighting completion of both HIP-1 and ERC-20 token deployments.

Several integration phases will unfold over the coming months, beginning with HyperEVM integrations, followed by the expansion of USDH’s role as a spot quote asset.

Future developments include native minting directly on HyperCore and USDH-margined perpetual contracts through the proposed HIP-3 protocol upgrade.

The issuer structured USDH reserves using cash and short-term U.S. Treasury holdings managed off-chain by BlackRock, while on-chain tokenized assets operate through Superstate and Stripe’s Bridge infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Native Markets is also committed to directing 50% of its reserve yield toward Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund, with the remaining portions allocated for USDH ecosystem development.

This revenue-sharing model emerged from the company’s competitive proposal that secured validator approval against better-known rivals during September’s governance process.

Hyperliquid currently hosts over $5.5 billion in Circle’s USDC, representing approximately 8% of the token’s total supply and generating an estimated $220 million annually in treasury yield revenue for Circle.

Stablecoin Competition Intensifies as Platforms Pursue Revenue Independence

The USDH launch contributes to a broader shift within defi, as trading platforms seek to reduce their dependence on external stablecoin issuers and capture reserve yield revenue internally.

Tether’s USDT currently dominates the market, with $173.05 billion in circulation, processing over $24.6 billion daily on TRON alone through approximately 2.4 million transactions, according to Coingecko’s data.

This infrastructure advantage extends to reserve backing, where Tether claims 75.86% U.S. Treasury Bills and 12.09% overnight repos across its reserve portfolio.

Native stablecoins like USDH are taking a different strategic approach, targeting specific ecosystem integration rather than the cross-chain ubiquity that characterizes established players.

Bloomberg characterized similar governance contests as “bidding wars” spreading across DeFi platforms as institutions recognize substantial revenue potential from stablecoin reserves.

The stablecoin landscape is showing increasing fragmentation, despite USDT’s dominance, with Chainalysis reporting $2.5 trillion in sector-wide transaction volumes that accommodate specialized players.

Binance currently holds 67% of all exchange stablecoin reserves, amounting to $44.2 billion, comprising $37.1 billion in USDT and $7.1 billion in USDC.

Smaller stablecoins have also shown rapid growth trajectories, with euro-denominated EURC expanding 89% month-over-month from $47 million to $7.5 billion in transactions during the past year.

Similarly, PayPal’s PYUSD accelerated from $783 million to $3.95 billion over the same period.

These competitive dynamics emerge as regulatory frameworks evolve, with the Trump-backed GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA creating opportunities for compliant alternatives to capture market share.

Industry projections from Citigroup suggest the sector could reach over $2 trillion market capitalization by 2030, which could potentially create space for multiple players to coexist rather than winner-take-all scenarios.

Looking forward, the success of ecosystem-focused stablecoins will likely depend on the growth trajectories of their host platforms. For instance, Hyperliquid generated $106 million in revenue during August 2025 alone, while slashing spot trading fees by 80% to bolster liquidity ahead of the stablecoin launch.

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