Coinbase becomes official USDC treasury deployer on Hyperliquid amid USDH transition

• Coinbase announces it has become the official treasury deployer of USDC as an Aligned Quote Asset on Hyperliquid. 
• The move enables Coinbase to share the vast majority of USDC reserve yields with Hyperliquid while staking HYPE for AQAv2 activation.
• Native Markets agreed to allow Coinbase to purchase the USDH brand assets, paving the way for a transition to USDC.

Coinbase announced Thursday that it has become the official treasury deployer of USDC as an Aligned Quote Asset (AQA) on Hyperliquid, deepening the integration between the stablecoin and the onchain trading platform.

The move positions USDC as the preferred stablecoin and quote asset across Hyperliquid’s 24/7 on-chain capital markets. By concentrating liquidity in USDC, the partnership aims to simplify transactions, improve pricing efficiency and reduce the need for multiple stablecoin conversions across the ecosystem.

“USDC is becoming the standard across crypto markets. Coinbase is deploying USDC on HyperliquidX to help grow the ecosystem and scale how capital moves,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in a Thursday X post.

Native Markets to sunset USDH amid transition to USDC across Hyperliquid

As part of the transition, USDH developer Native Markets granted Coinbase the right to purchase USDH brand assets. USDH, the Hyperliquid-native stablecoin developed under the AQA framework, will gradually sunset as the decentralized exchange transitions toward USDC-denominated liquidity.

“Building on Native Markets’ and USDH’s foundations, Coinbase will take on the role of an AQA deployer. As part of this transition, Native Markets has agreed to terms granting Coinbase the right to purchase the USDH brand assets,” Coinbase stated in a blog post.

Native Markets will remain operational as an independent entity following the transition and plans to focus on future ecosystem initiatives.

Existing USDH markets will remain fully operational during the migration period, while users will continue to have access to feeless redemptions into USDC or fiat through Native Markets’ dashboard.

Under the upgraded AQAv2 model, both Coinbase and Circle have committed to staking HYPE to support activation of the framework. Coinbase, acting as treasury deployer, will share the vast majority of USDC reserve yields with Hyperliquid.

The yield-sharing structure, first introduced through USDH, is expected to contribute to protocol revenue generation, potential HYPE buybacks, ecosystem grants and broader network development initiatives.

Hyperliquid also noted in an X post that the Hyper Foundation will provide grants to eligible HIP-3 and HIP-1 deployers, as well as builders that integrate USDH products, to support a smooth migration toward USDC-based order books.

USDC has seen notable growth on Hyperliquid over the past year, reaching about $5 billion in supply on the platform, representing roughly 200% year-over-year expansion.

HYPE is trading at $44 at the time of writing, up 12% over the past 24 hours.