Coinbase (COIN) is expanding its footprint on Hyperliquid (HYPE), one of the fastest-growing decentralized trading networks, by becoming the official treasury deployer of USDC on the blockchain, the companies announced Thursday.
Under the deal, Coinbase will manage USDC liquidity through Hyperliquid's Aligned Quote Asset (AQA) framework, which ties stablecoin reserves directly into trading infrastructure and shares yield revenue with the protocol. As part of the transition, Native Markets - developer of Hyperliquid's stablecoin USDH - agreed to terms that give Coinbase rights to acquire USDH brand assets. USDH will remain redeemable for USDC or fiat during a migration period before being phased out.
Trading activity on Hyperliquid has surged as traders move on-chain amid renewed DeFi interest. USDC supply on the platform has roughly doubled year-over-year to about $5 billion, per Coinbase. The network has become a hub for speculative trading and token launches, elevating its role in crypto market structure discussions.
Stablecoins serve as the core settlement layer for most crypto trading. By securing dominant liquidity on a fast-growing exchange ecosystem, Coinbase and Circle (CRCL) expand USDC's reach beyond Ethereum and centralized exchanges. Coinbase said the partnership would help build a more unified, always-on marketplace for onchain capital markets.