Hyperliquid issued its own dollar token, USDH, in a move aimed at reducing reliance on external stablecoins. First-day turnover passed $2.2 million. The shift is set to alter incentives for traders, liquidity suppliers, and governance voters.
The exchange’s decision restructures its stablecoin stack and market dynamics. This will come with opening cash and short-dated Treasuries behind USDH and measures to support initial market depth.
USDH opened with cash plus short-dated Treasuries backing it. $15 million was minted in advance and the price held at 1.001 USDC. A temporary fee rebate supported depth in the USDH-USDC book, helping stabilize the peg during the initial phase.
The $2.2 million turnover print and a 37 percent volume jump both arrived within hours, signaling early traction among market participants. The move cuts the exchange’s need for outside stablecoins and is intended to improve execution quality for active users.
Market reaction to Hyperliquid stablecoin
Cheaper execution and liquid reserves are expected to pull in more market-makers and users, with USDH’s structure designed to deepen order books and reduce slippage over time.
The token lowers reliance on USDT and USDC, yet competition among issuers could compress spreads as liquidity fragments and venues vie for flow. On-chain voting adds transparency, but grumbles have surfaced over side proposals tied to Stripe and over ticker overlap with earlier protocols, highlighting perception risks.
Validators ran the approval vote from 10 to 14 September 2025, and the team’s own staked HYPE did not count, removing insider weight from the outcome.
Native Markets won the issuer role after beating proposals from Paxos, Frax, and Agora, showing validator consensus carried the decision.
