Author: BlockWeeks

In the world of cryptocurrency, the business of stablecoins has always been the closest to "printing money." Circle and Tether are like the two central banks of this digital economy, holding hundreds of billions in real-world assets (mainly U.S. Treasury bonds), enjoying substantial interest from the Federal Reserve's rate hikes while providing essential liquidity to the on-chain world. Those shiny DeFi protocols, no matter how high their trading volumes or how prosperous their ecosystems, are essentially just downstream pipelines of these "central banks," serving as their "super users."

This seemingly unbreakable power structure has now been disrupted by Hyperliquid, a dark horse in the derivatives space, in an almost "brutal" manner. It did not choose to quietly fork a new stablecoin, nor did it settle for a lukewarm partnership with a certain issuer; instead, it directly put the "issuance rights" of stablecoins—once considered a coveted power by the giants—up for public auction. This move is like throwing a massive stone into the calm lake of stablecoins, not only stirring fierce competition among giants like Paxos and Frax Finance but also signaling a profound transformation in the power structure and business model of the stablecoin market.

An Unprecedented "Draft": The Battle for USDH Issuance Rights

As is well known, Hyperliquid, as a leading decentralized exchange with daily trading volumes often reaching tens of billions, has a massive amount of stablecoin assets (mainly USDC) locked within its platform. The interest generated from these reserves is a considerable income, but it has long been controlled by external issuers like Circle.

Hyperliquid has decided to "reclaim" this value for its ecosystem. It retained the token symbol USDH and issued a "hero's call" to the entire market: Whoever can provide the best stablecoin solution for the Hyperliquid ecosystem will gain exclusive issuance rights for USDH. This is not just about technology selection; it is a transparent business negotiation where all bidders' proposals, commitments, and profit-sharing models will be under the supervision of the community and validators.

This "draft" attracted top players in the industry, and their proposals were distinctly different, representing two entirely different paths for the future development of stablecoins:

1. Compliance and Traditional Giants: Paxos's "Empower HYPE" Model

As a well-established stablecoin issuer recognized by regulatory agencies (previously issued BUSD, USDP), Paxos's proposal focuses on "compliance" and "ecosystem feedback." Its core commitments are:

• Regulatory Certainty: USDH will fully comply with the U.S. "Stablecoin Innovation Act (GENIUS)" and the EU MiCA regulations, paving the way for institutional and large-scale adoption.
• Massive Buybacks: 95% of the interest generated from USDH's reserve assets will be used to publicly buy back Hyperliquid's native token HYPE on the secondary market and distribute it to ecosystem contributors. It is estimated that this move could bring nearly $200 million in buying pressure for HYPE each year.
• Resource Integration: Leveraging its deep network in traditional financial channels like PayPal, Venmo, and Interactive Brokers, Paxos aims to promote the integration and application of HYPE, pushing Hyperliquid from "crypto-native" to a broader mainstream market.

Paxos's proposal is undoubtedly a "sincere" cooperation agreement, sacrificing part of its profits in exchange for a core position in the emerging financial ecosystem of Hyperliquid, deeply binding the earnings of stablecoins to the value of the platform token.

2. DeFi-Native Disruptor: Frax Finance's "Zero Fee" Declaration

In contrast to Paxos's stable approach, the innovative pioneer in DeFi, Frax Finance, proposed a more radical and "crypto-native" solution. Its core highlights include:

• Complete Decentralization and Revenue Return: Frax promises to return 100% of the revenue generated from USDH's underlying Treasury bonds and other reserve assets directly to Hyperliquid's users and ecosystem through its FraxNet protocol, with Frax itself taking "zero fees."
• DeFi Lego Integration: USDH will be pegged 1:1 to Frax's decentralized stablecoin frxUSD and deeply integrated with Frax's DeFi product matrix, bringing richer on-chain application scenarios and composability to USDH.
• Community Ownership: This proposal emphasizes that USDH will be a stablecoin fully owned by the community, with its value capture and profit distribution determined by Hyperliquid's governance.

Frax's proposal represents a purer Web3 spirit, aiming to transform stablecoins from a profit tool controlled by centralized entities into a public infrastructure serving decentralized ecosystems.

3. Neutral Alliance and Rising Stars: Agora and Native Markets

In addition to the two major contenders, Agora, supported by Wall Street giant VanEck, has also joined the fray. It has united several infrastructure providers to propose a "neutral alliance" model, promising to return 100% of net income to the Hyperliquid ecosystem and emphasizing its role as a neutral issuer without conflicts of interest with projects within the ecosystem. Additionally, the local team within the Hyperliquid ecosystem, Native Markets, has submitted a proposal, and although details are sparse, its "localization" approach has garnered attention from some community members.

The "Novelty" and Far-Reaching Impact of the USDH Battle

The true far-reaching impact of this bidding war lies in the new script it provides for all top DeFi protocols.

In the past, everyone silently endured Circle's "minting/redemption fees" and its indifference to protocol revenues. Now, Hyperliquid is essentially publicly calling out: Hey, Solana! Hey, EigenLayer! You hold hundreds of billions of USDC and contribute astronomical interest income to Circle every year; are you content with that?

This opens a Pandora's box of "protocol rent-seeking." In the future, we may see more leading protocols begin to leverage their "asset gravity" to demand revenue sharing, empowerment, and customized services from stablecoin issuers. The role of stablecoin issuers will shift from being aloof "central banks" to competing "commercial banks," constantly vying for major clients (top protocols).

Ultimately, the flames ignited by Hyperliquid will burn down the old stablecoin issuance system monopolized by a few oligarchs. It will force the profits of stablecoins to flow back from the issuers' balance sheets to the DeFi ecosystem that truly creates value.

The Future of Stablecoins: From "Universal Currency" to "Ecosystem Dollar"

The story of Hyperliquid and USDH may be a microcosm of the evolution of the stablecoin market. As the crypto ecosystem matures, we will see more "ecosystem-native" or "platform-customized" stablecoins emerge. They will no longer merely pursue becoming a universal, indistinguishable "digital dollar," but will be deeply bound to specific ecosystems, with their mechanism design and profit distribution serving the long-term development of that ecosystem.

The power game of stablecoins initiated by Hyperliquid has only just begun. Regardless of which "bidder" ultimately wins, the birth of USDH has already successfully stirred the waters of the market. It forces us to rethink the essence of stablecoins, the attribution of value, and the relationship between platforms and infrastructure. For Tether and Circle, a new era led by platforms and shared interests may be on the horizon.

The old power structure is collapsing, and new rules are being co-written by every participant in this fierce competition. This may be one of the most exciting narratives in our industry since DeFi Summer.

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