Crypto bros are fighting over the trade’s model of The Bachelor’s remaining rose. Over the previous week, a handful of companies, together with Stripe’s Bridge and a startup linked to Paxos, have submitted proposals to launch a stablecoin on the blockchain Hyperliquid. Each suitor is eyeing the virtually $6 billion in stablecoins traded on the blockchain’s greatest exchange.
“Hyperliquid has grown males writing public love letters to their protocol so that they could be picked as a associate,” wrote Mert Mumtaz, CEO of the crypto firm Helius, on X. “That is principally The Bachelor, however for stablecoins.”
bro ngl that is fairly loopy
Hyperliquid has grown males writing public love letters to their protocol so that they could be picked as a associate
That is principally The Bachelor, however for stablecoins
Who will get the final rose? Unimaginable https://t.co/0zWfjAxKYg— mert | helius.dev (@0xMert_) September 8, 2025
Right here’s why the stablecoin faceoff is going on, who’s vying for the ultimate rose, and the way it might influence the underside line of the publicly traded stablecoin big Circle.
What’s Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid is each the identify of one of many fastest-growing exchanges in crypto, in addition to the blockchain that hosts it. Hyperliquid operates in the realm of decentralized finance, a time period that refers to providing companies like lending and borrowing on a blockchain. Since its launch in 2022, the exchange, which caters to merchants who need to speculate on extra dangerous crypto derivatives, has grown its annualized income to nearly $1.3 billion, in accordance to data from the crypto analytics supplier DefiLlama.
Stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies backed by underlying property just like the U.S. greenback, are key to any exchange’s operations. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum are notoriously risky. When merchants purchase or promote the tokens, they usually preserve their funds in stablecoins to forestall losses. Nearly $6 billion in stablecoins are parked on Hyperliquid, in accordance to the crypto knowledge agency Artemis Analytics.
Greater than 90% of these tokens are Circle’s USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, in accordance to Artemis. However, on Friday, the Hyperliquid Basis, one of many key entities behind the blockchain and exchange, mentioned it will give the ticker USDH to any get together who deliberate to create a stablecoin designed before everything for Hyperliquid.
Who’s fighting whom?
The inspiration is merely giving out the ticker and has mentioned that the Hyperliquid blockchain will proceed to help a number of stablecoins, in accordance to a put up on the ecosystem’s Discord channel. Nonetheless, crypto trade onlookers consider whoever owns USDH has a leg up on different stablecoins on Hyperliquid. “It’s going to be the stablecoin that the group really desires, versus [USDC from] Circle, which is just like the stablecoin that they’re caught with,” mentioned Bhau Kotecha, cofounder and head of Paxos Labs, one of many companies vying for the ticker.
Stablecoin issuers often again their property with dollar-like equivalents, akin to U.S. Treasury payments. Issuers make cash by way of amassing yield on the underlying holdings. In different phrases, billions in stablecoins on Hyperliquid interprets to doubtlessly tons of of tens of millions in income, given present rates of interest. “Not each day does $5 billion come up for grabs,” mentioned Andrew Van Aken, an Artemis knowledge scientist, referring to the approximate complete of stablecoins on Hyperliquid.
Nonetheless, to compete with Circle, which has traditionally not shared the yield it earns from its reserves with the companies that combine its stablecoin, Hyperliquid suitors have promised to distribute cash earned again into the blockchain’s ecosystem.
After the Hyperliquid basis opened up requires proposals to launch USDH, well-known crypto companies started to combat for the ticker. These embody startups linked to the fintech big Stripe, the stablecoin issuer Paxos, and a assortment of DeFi tasks. “We’re extremely enthusiastic about Hyperliquid main the way in which and taking management of its cash,” Zach Abrams, the cofounder of Bridge, a stablecoin issuer not too long ago acquired by Stripe, wrote on X.
How does this influence Circle?
Bridge and its associate Native Markets are thought of favorites to win the stablecoin race, according to the prediction market Polymarket.
However, no matter who wins, a portion of Circle’s backside line seems—at the very least briefly—beneath risk. Within the second quarter of this yr, greater than 96% of Circle’s income got here from the curiosity it reaps from the reserves that again its stablecoin USDC. Given that nearly a tenth of USDC’s complete provide sits throughout the Hyperliquid exchange, in accordance to knowledge from Artemis Analytics, the winner of Hyperliquid’s stablecoin race immediately impacts Circle’s backside line. “It’s positively a short-term headwind,” mentioned Van Aken.
A spokesperson for Circle disputed that the results of the Hyperliquid stablecoin race would damage the corporate: “We don’t see the USDH ticker vote impacting USDC’s position as the first stablecoin on Hyperliquid. Circle is continuous to deepen our dedication to the Hyperliquid ecosystem.”
