Circle Partners with Hyperliquid, Launches Native USDC on HyperEVM

Hyperliquid's latest price was $54.23, up 0.724% in the last 24 hours. Circle has announced a significant partnership with Hyperliquid, focusing on integrating USDC and CCTP V2 on HyperEVM. This collaboration aims to bring trusted liquidity, interoperability, and support for builders to one of the most innovative platforms in the crypto space. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, highlighted that this partnership marks a major milestone, officially launching native USDC and CCTP V2 on HyperEVM. This integration combines Circle's technical achievements with Hyperliquid's dedicated user base, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.

Circle is also investing in HYPE, becoming a Hyperliquid stakeholder, and considering becoming a system validator. Allaire praised Hyperliquid's team, suggesting that this partnership is the foundation for long-term collaboration. Circle's stablecoin, USDC, brings significant liquidity to Hyperliquid, with over 1 trillion USDC tokens minted in its history. This partnership not only benefits both firms but also the broader industry, showcasing Circle's commitment to being an industry leader.

Circle's expansion into Hyperliquid includes an investment and the launch of native USD Coin on the protocol. This move comes as stablecoin competition on the network intensifies. Circle is now a stakeholder in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, directly holding its native cryptocurrency HYPE, and is considering becoming a validator for the protocol. The token will be natively deployed on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s smart contract layer. This launch is the first step toward enabling USDC deposits into Hyperliquid’s spot and perpetuals exchange on HyperCore.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized finance ecosystem specializing in derivatives trading. In July, the protocol hit $330 billion in trading volume nearly a year after launching its layer-1 network. The protocol announced a competition to select a partner to develop its own stablecoin, drawing bids from major stablecoin issuers and crypto firms. On Sunday, the protocol said its validator community had chosen Native Markets to issue Hyperliquid’s upcoming native stablecoin, USDH. Validators on Hyperliquid are HYPE holders who stake their tokens to help secure the blockchain, validate transactions, and take part in governance. The top 21 by stake make up the active validator set, which is responsible for proposing and confirming blocks on the network. Currently, about 430 million HYPE tokens are staked on the network. Top validators include Galaxy Digital, Flowdex, and the Hyper Foundation, which supports Hyperliquid’s development.

Liquid staking protocol Kintsu has announced its expansion to Hyperliquid with the launch of sHYPE, now live on mainnet. Supported by investors including Castle Island Ventures, Brevan Howard Digital, CMT Digital, Spartan, Arche Capital, and F-Prime, the protocol is revolutionizing liquid staking on Hyperliquid by introducing a game-like governance model. In the model, delegates stake governance tokens and campaign for delegations by curating high-performing validator teams. While validators compete for stake, delegates compete for reputation and voting power, all driven by transparent performance. Ultimately, validator performance drives yield, and yield enables a more resilient, composable LST designed for the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

The protocol also aims to address fragmentation in decentralized finance (DeFi) through the curation of decentralized validators and the issuance of composable staking tokens. Kintsu chose Hyperliquid for several reasons. Over the years, the platform has established a reputation as one of the leading DeFi hubs, with billions of dollars in daily trading volume. Kintsu is also bringing a few benefits to Hyperliquid, including a decentralized validator registry that enables open competition among validators, with yields determined by performance metrics. It is also bringing composability and integration since sHYPE is designed for direct integration with HyperEVM-based decentralized finance applications and yield strategies. It is also able to connect with Hyperliquid’s native staking layer, expanding interoperability across the ecosystem. Thirdly, sHYPE is bringing liquidity and governance alignment by maintaining liquidity for participants while supporting composable capital allocation. Governance structures oversee validator selection and curation to ensure transparency and incentive alignment across stakeholders.

Kintsu has also introduced the Battle Pass Multiplier NFT, and those who join the waitlist will be entered into a selection process for a Battle Pass. They can increase their chances through referrals, staking sHYPE, and engaging with supported integrations. Eventually, selected participants will receive the Battle Pass Multiplier NFT, which provides 1.5x Kintsu Points, offering an early advantage in rank progression. Validator performance and participant activity serve as key factors in shaping outcomes, so participants who excel in this are more likely to win.

Circle has rolled out native USDC and its upgraded Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP v2) on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM network. Announced on Sept. 16, the integration allows HyperEVM users to transfer USDC across over a dozen supported networks. The move also lowers the barriers for developers, traders, and service providers seeking smoother cross-chain movement of digital assets. This integration is part of Circle's broader strategy to enhance interoperability and liquidity within the crypto ecosystem, leveraging Hyperliquid's robust infrastructure to achieve these goals.

Hyperliquid's validator voting mechanism represents an innovative approach in decentralized finance, effectively redirecting yield into token buybacks and ecosystem enhancements despite regulatory prohibitions on interest-bearing stablecoins. This governance model demonstrates the platform's adaptability in navigating complex regulatory environments while maintaining value accrual mechanisms for participants.

The platform expanded its ecosystem capabilities significantly through Kintsu's launch of sHYPE after two years of research and development. This integration introduces enhanced resilience features for liquid staking solutions, broadening the protocol's utility in decentralized finance infrastructure.

Circle initiated a strategic expansion of its engagement with Hyperliquid, integrating native USDC functionality alongside its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) V2 implementation. This technical upgrade enables direct deposits to HyperCore and facilitates immediate utilization of USDC across Hyperliquid's financial applications, substantially improving capital efficiency for institutional and retail users transacting in dollar-denominated digital assets.

Further reinforcing this partnership, Circle responded to Hyperliquid's stablecoin developments with additional investment commitments and accelerated deployment of native USDC infrastructure. This expansion underscores the growing institutional recognition of Hyperliquid's technological framework and its alignment with regulated financial instruments.

Concurrent with these developments, Hyperliquid has focused on institutional-grade security enhancements within its ecosystem. This security infrastructure advancement provides heightened protection for users engaging with both core protocol features and newly integrated solutions like sHYPE and native USDC.