Key Takeaways
Who won the race for Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin ticker?
Native Markets secured the USDH ticker, winning nearly 70% of validator votes in Hyperliquid’s first major on-chain governance process.
Which firms did Native Markets beat?
It outpaced bids from Paxos, BitGo, and Ethena, with prediction markets showing overwhelming support for Native Markets toward the end of the race.
The race to secure the USDH stablecoin ticker on Hyperliquid [HYPE] has officially come to an end.
After a week of competitive bidding, Hyperliquid’s validator community voted in favor of Native Markets, granting the firm the rights to issue and manage the exchange’s U.S. dollar stablecoin, USDH.
Native Markets wins the USDH ticker
Max Fiege, founder of Native Markets, took to X and noted,
“We will be deploying both the USDH HIP-1 and corresponding ERC-20 within days. We will then start with a testing phase for mints and redeems of up to $800/tx with an initial group, to be followed by the opening of the USDH/USDC spot order book as well as uncapped mints & redeems.”
For the uninitiated, Native Markets moved quickly, submitting the initial proposal for USDH just 90 minutes after Hyperliquid issued the call, later refining its plan in response to community feedback.
The Hyperliquid Foundation itself abstained from voting, leaving the decision entirely to validators.
This contest to secure the USDH ticker marks the exchange’s first major on-chain governance vote beyond routine token listings.
Other competitors
Despite competition from established players like Paxos, BitGo, and Ethena [ENA], Native Markets emerged as the clear frontrunner throughout the weeklong campaign.
On-chain trackers show that its proposal ultimately secured about 70% of validator votes, compared to 20% for Paxos and just 3.2% for Ethena.
Most bidders had pledged to direct stablecoin yields back into the Hyperliquid ecosystem, whether through contributions to the Hyperliquid Assistance Fund, ecosystem growth initiatives, or direct token repurchases.
Momentum firmly swung in Native Markets’ favor late in the process.
After Ethena withdrew from the race recently, prediction markets like Polymarket gave Native Markets over a 99% chance of victory by Saturday.
Controversy alert!
Still, the outcome was not without controversy.
Critics, including Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital, questioned the selection process, raising concerns about fairness and long-term implications for governance on Hyperliquid.
Quershi observed,
“Hearing from multiple bidders that none of the validators are interested in considering anyone besides Native Markets. It’s not even a serious discussion, as though there was a backroom deal already done.”
Will USDH rule USDC?
With the launch of USDH, Circle’s USD Coin [USDC], the dominant dollar-backed asset on the network, is facing fresh competition.
However, data from DeFiLlama shows nearly $6 billion in USDC reserves remain on the platform, underscoring its entrenched position.
Still, Hyperliquid has made it clear that USDC and other stablecoins will continue to be supported as quote assets.
However, they have to meet requirements such as a 200,000 HYPE stake (approximately $10 million), a strong peg to $1, and sufficient liquidity depth against both USDC and HYPE.
Even so, market sentiment suggests ripples are already being felt.
Circle’s stock has slipped notably, falling 16% since the USDH initiative was announced, and most recently trading at $125.32 after a 6.27% daily decline, according to Yahoo Finance.
The HYPE token has also experienced modest pressure, dropping 1.09% in the past 24 hours to $54.02, according to CoinMarketCap.
