Ethena Labs Proposes BlackRock-Backed Stablecoin for Hyperliquid Platform

Ethena Labs has entered the race to issue Hyperliquid's native stablecoin, USDH, with a proposal backed by BlackRock's institutional heft. The September 9 submission pits Ethena against heavyweights like Paxos and FRAX Finance in a bid to anchor settlements on the fast-growing decentralized exchange.

The plan leverages BlackRock's BUIDL fund via USDtb tokenized notes as collateral—a MOVE that could reshape liquidity dynamics. Ethena commits to returning 95% of net revenue to Hyperliquid's community and deploying $75 million in incentives, with Anchorage Digital and Securitize as key partners.

Hyperliquid's stablecoin initiative, announced September 5, seeks to displace $5.5 billion in USDC settlement volume. The exchange recorded $405.8 billion in August perpetuals trading—a record high—while generating $1.3 billion annual protocol revenue, making the contract a lucrative prize.