Circle Brings Native USDC to Hyperliquid Ahead of USDH Rollout

Circle has gone live with native USDC on Hyperliquid while also investing in its HYPE token, just as the platform prepares to launch its USDH stablecoin.

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Posted September 17, 2025 at 10:02 am EST.

Circle has launched a native version of its USDC stablecoin on Hyperliquid, expanding its presence beyond the previously bridged USDC on the platform.

The launch accompanies the upgraded Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol version 2 (CCTP V2) on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM.

The stablecoin issuer has also made an investment in Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE, becoming a stakeholder in the ecosystem, and is exploring the possibility of becoming a network validator.

Circle did not disclose the amount it had invested in HYPE, but an onchain transfer flagged by pseudonymous researcher MLM on Sept. 12 showed a wallet linked to Circle bought $4.6 million worth of HYPE tokens.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

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The decision to launch native USDC on the platform comes ahead of Hyperliquid’s own USDH stablecoin rollout. Native Markets, elected as the token’s issuer by Hyperliquid validators, said earlier this week that USDH deployment was just “days away.”

If Hyperliquid transitions all $5.9 billion USDC collateral to USDH, Circle would lose as much as $200 million in annual reserve income.