The decentralized derivatives protocol Hyperliquid has announced a major upgrade to its stablecoin framework, officially advancing the AQAv2 (Aligned Quote Asset v2) initiative.
USDC will become the core stablecoin of Hyperliquid.
According to the official statement, Coinbase will become the official Treasury Deployer for USDC on Hyperliquid, while Circle will serve as the tech deployer, responsible for CCTP and the native cross-chain infrastructure.
Both parties have committed to staking HYPE tokens to kick off the AQAv2 mechanism, symbolizing the first deep collaborative support from major U.S. crypto financial giants for the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
Hyperliquid indicates that under the AQAv2 framework, Coinbase will act as Treasury Deployer and share most of the reserve earnings with the protocol, making USDC the 'most aligned stablecoin with Hyperliquid interests.'
The official pointed out that the community and developers have long reflected that the coexistence of multiple stablecoins has caused liquidity fragmentation and a decline in user experience. Now, through AQAv2, the market no longer needs to choose between 'deep liquidity' and 'protocol alignment.'
As part of the subsequent upgrade, the future canonical outcome (HIP-4) market of Hyperliquid will fully adopt USDC as the quoting asset.
USDH will gradually phase out, with the technical concept continuing into AQAv2
This upgrade also signifies the gradual phase-out of the stablecoin USDH originally launched by Native Markets.
Hyperliquid revealed that Native Markets has agreed to grant the brand asset rights of USDH to Coinbase. However, the official emphasis is that USDH, as the first large-scale stablecoin that shares earnings directly with the protocol in a purely on-chain manner, is foundational to the design concept and mechanism that enabled the emergence of AQAv2.
Currently, the USDH market is operating normally, and the assets are fully reserve-backed, allowing users to swap for USDC or fiat with no fees, with migration gradually completing in the future.
Additionally, Hyper Foundation stated that it will provide grants to the deployers and related development teams of HIP-1 and HIP-3 that integrate USDH to assist in completing the migration process in the coming months.
Coinbase: 24/7 on-chain markets require USDC
Coinbase stated that on-chain markets operate 24/7, thus requiring a collateral asset that is 'always available, instantly transferable, and deeply liquid,' which USDC meets.
Coinbase also revealed that it has significantly increased its staked HYPE position, further strengthening its participation in the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
Jeff: Industry giants are truly starting to collaborate on on-chain finance
Hyperliquid founder Jeff describes this collaboration as a 'historic moment.'
He stated that AQAv2 will bring the 'protocol-aligned stablecoin' model pioneered by Native Markets into USDC, and combine Coinbase and Circle's commitments to Hyperliquid, allowing the community to finally not have to choose between liquidity and protocol alignment.
Jeff also pointed out that as the industry continues to grow, the crypto market will still face challenges, but seeing industry giants start to collaborate and push to 'bring all finance on-chain' excites him about the future.
Circle: USDC will become the core of Hyperliquid's market structure
Circle states that USDC is gradually becoming a core component of Hyperliquid's market structure.
In addition to continuing as the primary collateral asset for HIP-1, HIP-2, and HIP-3 markets, it will also extend to the HIP-4 market, becoming the core quoting and liquidation asset for the entire ecosystem.
Circle emphasizes that USDC can bring to Hyperliquid:
Deeper trading pair liquidity
Higher overall capital efficiency
Smoother cross-chain USD circulation capability
At the same time, Circle has confirmed that it will make a 'significant financial investment' in the Hyperliquid ecosystem through staking HYPE.
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