USDH (USDH)

Overview

USDH is a U.S. dollar stablecoin created for Hyperliquid, a blockchain built around onchain markets. It was designed so that one USDH could be redeemed for one U.S. dollar through its issuer. Native Markets designed the token, while Bridge, a Stripe company, issued it and held the assets backing it. USDH could move between Hyperliquid’s trading layer, called HyperCore, and its smart-contract layer, called HyperEVM. (nativemarkets.com)

USDH also shows how a stablecoin can be tied closely to one blockchain’s economy. Its design directed part of the income from its reserves toward Hyperliquid. That role changed in 2026: Native Markets began winding down USDH as Coinbase took on a role deploying USDC within Hyperliquid’s aligned stablecoin system. The USDH website closed on July 17, 2026, but Bridge continued to offer redemption. Understanding USDH therefore means looking at both its original design and its later transition. (coinbase.com)

History & Team

From proposal to launch

Native Markets proposed USDH in 2025 as a dollar token built specifically for Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid’s aligned quote asset framework gave stablecoin issuers a way to connect their tokens to the network’s trading system and share reserve income with the protocol. Validators selected Native Markets’ proposal, making USDH an early example of that framework in use. (nativemarkets.substack.com)

Native Markets named Max Fiege, Anish Agnihotri, and MC Lader as its co-founders. Their backgrounds span blockchain research, decentralized finance, and traditional finance. The distinction between designer and issuer matters: Native Markets developed USDH’s plan and ecosystem relationships, while Bridge Building Inc. was responsible for issuing the dollar-backed token. BlackRock and Superstate had reserve-management roles; their involvement did not make them USDH’s issuers. (nativemarkets.substack.com)

The 2026 transition

On May 14, 2026, Coinbase announced that it would become a treasury deployer for USDC under Hyperliquid’s aligned quote asset framework. Native Markets agreed to terms giving Coinbase the right to purchase USDH brand assets, and USDH markets began a planned wind-down. When the USDH website closed on July 17, its USDH/USDC Hyperliquid order-book liquidity and its one-to-one Across conversion service were discontinued. Bridge remained the route for redemption. (coinbase.com)

Technology & How It Works

One token across two layers

USDH’s main deployment is an ERC-20 token on HyperEVM. ERC-20 is a common format that lets wallets and applications read balances, send tokens, and interact with smart contracts. USDH also has a linked HIP-1 version on HyperCore, where Hyperliquid handles native token balances and order-book trading. Transfers through the network’s system addresses move the token’s usable balance between the two layers. (docs.usdh.com)

This arrangement gave builders two ways to use the same stablecoin. An application could work with USDH through familiar EVM smart-contract tools, while a trader could hold it in a HyperCore spot balance. Native Markets’ documentation describes HyperEVM as the source of issuance: tokens were minted and burned there, with the HyperCore version linked to that supply. (docs.usdh.com)

Reserves and redemption

USDH’s dollar target came from its reserve-and-redemption model. Bridge agreed to maintain assets worth at least one dollar for each redeemable USDH outstanding. The stated backing included cash, U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents. Native Markets described BlackRock as managing traditional reserves held with JPMorgan Chase, and Superstate as managing tokenized reserves held through Fireblocks infrastructure. Reserve reports provided a way to compare outstanding tokens with the assets held for redemption. (nativemarkets.com)

Redemption is different from selling on an exchange. An exchange trade depends on another trader or a trading pool. Redemption goes through Bridge’s process for exchanging eligible USDH for another asset, such as USDC or fiat currency. Bridge’s redemption service requires identity verification for direct use. (dashboard.usdh.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

USDH had no fixed distribution of tokens to holders like a typical project launch. Its supply was meant to follow issuance and redemption: new redeemable tokens entered circulation when approved users converted dollars or USDC into USDH, and tokens were removed through redemption. Native Markets’ original service supported direct minting for onboarded institutions and other approved users through bank transfers or supported USDC networks. That description explains the operating model before the wind-down, rather than a new growth plan for USDH. (docs.usdh.com)

The token’s economic model also involved income earned on its reserves. Under the original arrangement, 50% of reserve income was directed to Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund, while the other half was intended to support USDH growth through trading interfaces, markets, and applications. USDH holders did not receive that income simply by holding the token. Native Markets’ terms stated that USDH itself paid no interest or return. (docs.usdh.com)

USDH served as an aligned quote asset. A quote asset is the unit used to state a trading pair’s price—for example, the dollar side of a token/USDH pair. Hyperliquid’s framework offered qualifying aligned assets lower taker fees, better maker rebates, and greater contribution toward users’ fee tiers. These features explain why USDH was designed as part of the trading network, rather than only as a token for transfers. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

USDH was built first for activity on Hyperliquid. Traders could use it in spot pairs, where one token is exchanged for another. Builders could also use it as the quote asset for new markets. Hyperliquid’s account system supported USDH balances in certain builder-deployed perpetual markets, where the stablecoin could serve as collateral. These functions gave applications a dollar unit native to the network’s own trading layers. (docs.usdh.com)

On HyperEVM, USDH’s ERC-20 form made it usable by compatible smart contracts. That opened the door to payments and decentralized-finance applications alongside its trading role. A holder could also transfer dollar-denominated value between compatible addresses without first converting it to another crypto asset. Its links between HyperEVM and HyperCore were central to those uses: applications and trading accounts could operate on different layers while working with USDH. (docs.usdh.com)

The wind-down narrowed these uses. The dedicated USDH/USDC Hyperliquid order-book liquidity and the website’s Across conversion route ended in July 2026. The token’s lasting role is now chiefly as an example of a blockchain-specific stablecoin and as an outstanding asset that holders can bring to Bridge for redemption. (usdh.com)

Advantages & Challenges

USDH’s main design advantage was its close fit with Hyperliquid. It combined a dollar-backed token, native order-book support, an EVM version for applications, and a plan to send reserve income back to the network. That gave traders and builders a shared dollar unit across different parts of one ecosystem. Its reserve reports and defined issuer also made the backing model easier to describe than a system based on changing crypto collateral ratios. (docs.usdh.com)

The same close fit created a challenge. USDH’s usefulness depended heavily on adoption within Hyperliquid. It also required coordination among Native Markets, Bridge, reserve managers, and the blockchain’s trading infrastructure. The 2026 shift toward USDC changed the place USDH had been built to fill. As a result, its original advantages are best understood as features of its operating design, while redemption is the central part of its present transition. (coinbase.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

USDH can be purchased through USDH pairs on decentralized exchanges including Project X and Funnel. Those exchange trades are separate from the former direct-minting service. Bridge also provides a direct redemption process for USDH, including conversion options described by the issuer. The old USDH website and its Hyperliquid USDH/USDC order-book service have closed. (coingecko.com)

USDH can be held on HyperEVM in an EVM-compatible wallet such as MetaMask or Rabby, using its HyperEVM token deployment. It can also appear in a connected Hyperliquid account as a HyperCore spot balance. These are two representations within Hyperliquid’s linked system, so the network and token version determine how a wallet or application displays and transfers the balance. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)

Regulatory & Compliance

Bridge Building Inc., a Delaware company and Stripe subsidiary, issued USDH. Native Markets’ terms describe Bridge as responsible for the reserves and for eligible redemptions. Access to Bridge’s direct purchase or redemption services involves account onboarding and identity checks; Bridge’s current direct-redemption process also requires identity verification. In the United States, payment stablecoins operate within a developing legal framework that addresses matters such as permitted issuers, reserves, and supervision. In the European Union, MiCA sets separate rules for tokens that seek to track a single official currency. Those frameworks concern the issuer and the services offered in each jurisdiction, not just the token’s code. (usdh.com)

Islamic-finance questions arise from USDH’s reserve design. The backing included income-producing U.S. Treasury assets, and the original model shared reserve income with Hyperliquid. AAOIFI’s Shariah standard treats interest-bearing bonds as involving riba, or prohibited interest. USDH did not pay reserve interest directly to holders, but that distinction alone does not establish a Shariah ruling for the token. Its treatment would depend on an assessment of the full issuance, reserve, and redemption arrangement. (docs.usdh.com)

Future Outlook

USDH’s announced path is a wind-down, not an expansion into new markets. Coinbase’s USDC deployment took over the aligned stablecoin role that USDH had sought to build, while Bridge continued to handle outstanding USDH redemptions after the USDH website closed. The token’s design may still inform future stablecoins: it linked reserve income, trading incentives, and two blockchain layers in one product. Its future as an asset, however, centers on the remaining redemption process rather than wider adoption. (coinbase.com)

Summary

USDH was a Bridge-issued, dollar-backed stablecoin designed by Native Markets for Hyperliquid. It connected HyperEVM applications with HyperCore trading and used an aligned quote asset model to share reserve income with the network. After a 2026 shift toward USDC, USDH entered a wind-down and Bridge remained its redemption route. Its history illustrates both the possibilities and the limits of building a stablecoin around one blockchain ecosystem. (docs.usdh.com)