Coinbase has strengthened its relationship with decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid after becoming the official USDC treasury deployer for the ecosystem. The crypto exchange also revealed that it has expanded its staked HYPE holdings while preparing to phase out Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin, USDH.
According to Coinbase, the partnership will allow USDC to serve as the main collateral asset across Hyperliquid’s ecosystem through its role as an Aligned Quote Asset (AQA). The exchange emphasized that around-the-clock on-chain trading requires a stablecoin that offers strong liquidity, instant transfers, and constant availability, positioning USDC as the ideal solution.
The company highlighted that USDC has already become the dominant stablecoin on Hyperliquid since the platform launched in 2023. With this latest move, Coinbase aims to further reinforce USDC’s role within the rapidly growing decentralized leverage trading market.
Alongside the treasury announcement, Coinbase disclosed that it has significantly increased its staked position in Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE. Following the news, HYPE recorded gains of more than 5%, trading near $41 based on TradingView market data.
While Hyperliquid’s token reacted positively, Coinbase shares moved lower during the trading session. TradingView data showed COIN stock falling more than 2% at the market open, with shares trading around $197.
Coinbase also confirmed that it has secured the rights to acquire the USDH brand assets from Native Markets, the company behind Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin launched last year. As part of the transition, Coinbase stated that USDH will gradually be sunset over time.
Despite the planned phase-out, Coinbase assured users that USDH remains fully backed. The exchange added that users can still convert USDH to USDC without fees and redeem holdings for fiat currency throughout the transition period.
The development drew attention across the crypto industry. Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic described the move as a major victory for USDC in its competition against USDT within the Hyperliquid ecosystem. He also noted that the decision to retire USDH reflects a broader trend in crypto markets where liquidity, distribution, and network effects increasingly outweigh ecosystem loyalty.
