Circle Strengthens Position in Hyperliquid Ecosystem with Investment and Native USDC Launch
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has expanded its footprint within the Hyperliquid decentralized finance (DeFi) network by investing directly in the protocol and deploying USDC natively on Hyperliquid’s smart contract platform, HyperEVM. This strategic move comes amid intensifying competition among stablecoins on the Hyperliquid network.
According to a Tuesday announcement, Circle now holds Hyperliquid’s native cryptocurrency, HYPE, and is evaluating the possibility of becoming a network validator. Validators in Hyperliquid stake HYPE tokens to secure the blockchain, validate transactions, and participate in governance. The top 21 validators by stake form the active set responsible for block confirmation.
Circle’s USDC token, redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, will be integrated with Hyperliquid’s spot and perpetuals exchange on the HyperCore platform. The company described this rollout as an initial step towards enabling USDC deposits within the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
Background: Hyperliquid’s Growing Ecosystem and Stablecoin Race
Hyperliquid, a layer-1 DeFi network focused on derivatives trading, has seen rapid growth, achieving $330 billion in trading volume within a year of its launch. In September, the protocol initiated a competitive process to select a partner to develop its native stablecoin, USDH. This contest attracted bids from several prominent stablecoin issuers and crypto firms, including Paxos, Frax, Sky, Agora, Ethena, OpenEden, BitGo, and Native Markets.
On Sunday, Hyperliquid’s validator community selected Native Markets as the issuer for USDH, the forthcoming native stablecoin. Currently, about 430 million HYPE tokens are staked by validators such as Galaxy Digital, Flowdex, and the Hyper Foundation, which supports the protocol’s development efforts.
Broader DeFi Landscape in 2025
The expansion of decentralized finance continues into 2025, driven by innovations like real-world asset tokenization and digital asset treasury management. According to DefiLlama data, total value locked (TVL) across all DeFi protocols has increased by approximately 35% over nine months, reaching $158 billion as of June.
Additionally, memecoin trading has experienced a resurgence, with platforms like Pump.fun reporting daily volumes exceeding $1 billion recently. This momentum indicates evolving dynamics within the crypto trading ecosystem.
FinOracleAI — Market View
Circle’s investment and native USDC deployment on Hyperliquid signal a strategic effort to capture market share within an increasingly competitive stablecoin environment on emerging DeFi platforms. This move could enhance USDC’s utility and liquidity on Hyperliquid, potentially attracting more users and trading volume.
Risks include the competitive stablecoin issuance process on Hyperliquid and broader market volatility impacting DeFi adoption. Monitoring the development and adoption of USDH and Circle’s validator role will be critical to assessing long-term impact.
Impact: positive
