Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has made a strategic move into decentralized finance by directly investing in Hyperliquid's ecosystem, marking its first stake in HYPE tokens. This investment coincides with the official launch of native USDC and the upgraded Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) V2 on Hyperliquid, positioning the stablecoin at the core of one of DeFi's fastest-growing platforms.
The integration enables USDC deployment on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid's smart contract layer, allowing deposits across HyperCore and any application built on the network. CCTP V2 interoperability will allow users to move USDC between Hyperliquid and over a dozen other supported blockchains with full capital efficiency. Circle emphasized that USDC issued on Hyperliquid remains fully reserved and redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars while benefiting from institutional on- and off-ramps like Circle Mint.
Hyperliquid has emerged as a dominant stablecoin hub, with assets under management (AUM) recently surpassing $5.5 billion, up from under $4 billion earlier in July. Circle attributed $1.2 billion of that growth to fresh USDC inflows. The platform has captured 70% of USDC's liquidity share on Arbitrum and now handles the equivalent of 14% of Binance's trading volume, generating roughly $30 million in weekly fees.
Circle's new position as a HYPE token holder is part of a broader plan to engage with Hyperliquid's builder community, including support for HIP-3 and HyperEVM developers. The company is also evaluating becoming a Hyperliquid validator. CEO Jeremy Allaire stated these efforts reflect Circle's "big tent" approach to Web3 development, seeking to build long-term shareholder value toward an internet economy that could support "hundreds of trillions of dollars in economic activity."
The expansion comes amid record growth for stablecoins, with the sector approaching $300 billion in market capitalization. USDC has supported nearly $40 trillion in on-chain transactions since launch, with over $1 trillion minted and redeemed to date.