Coinbase has announced a strategic expansion of its support for the USD Coin (USDC) on the Hyperliquid platform by taking on the role of the official treasury deployer under Hyperliquid’s Aligned Quote Asset (AQA) framework. This move is aimed at enhancing USDC’s status as the primary stablecoin within the on-chain capital markets.
In its latest press release, Coinbase emphasized that centralizing liquidity around USDC is intended to boost market efficiency. By doing so, capital can move seamlessly across trading venues, minimizing the need for currency conversions. Users will continue to utilize USDC through Coinbase’s fiat on-ramps and its extensive global network.
The AQA framework was initially introduced by Native Markets, serving as a foundational component for building a robust stablecoin platform for Hyperliquid users. With this transition, Coinbase will take over as the AQA deployer. Native Markets has agreed to terms that will ultimately grant Coinbase rights to the USDH brand assets. Although USDH markets will remain operational for the time being, they are set to be gradually phased out. During this transition, Coinbase confirmed that USDH is fully backed and users can convert USDH to USDC without incurring fees or redeem it for fiat, with conversions and redemptions managed by Native Markets.
“Since its launch, Hyperliquid has experienced rapid growth and has quickly positioned itself as a leading on-chain trading network,” Coinbase remarked. “We are excited to deepen our support for the ecosystem and witness USDC’s continued expansion on Hyperliquid.”
In a related announcement, Hyperliquid disclosed that Circle will act as the technical deployer responsible for overseeing Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) services and the native infrastructure for cross-chain capabilities. Both Circle and Coinbase have also committed to staking HYPE tokens to enhance AQAv2 activation.
Furthermore, as the treasury deployer, Coinbase is expected to distribute a significant portion of the reserve yield revenue back to the protocol. Hyperliquid hinted at a future upgrade that will transition canonical outcome markets under HIP-4 to utilize USDC as the quote asset.
Since its inception in November 2024, Hyperliquid has emerged as a major contender in the on-chain cryptocurrency trading sector, particularly excelling in perpetual futures markets. Its significance was underscored earlier this week when 21Shares introduced the first Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) designed to offer exposure to its native token, HYPE, marking a significant milestone for institutional engagement with the platform.
