Morning in Asia: Native Markets Takes Lead in Early Voting on Hyperliquid USDH Contract

Early results from Hyperliquid’s contested USDH stablecoin vote show Native Markets, aligned with Stripe, leading despite some community skepticism.

As of Thursday morning Hong Kong time, Native Markets commands 30.8% of the delegated stake, with major validators infinitefield.xyz (13.5%) and Alphaticks (5.2%) driving support. Paxos Labs, issuer of PayPal’s PYUSD, holds 7.6%, backed by B-Harvest and HyBridge, while Ethena has 4.5%. Other prominent proposals—including Agora, Frax, and Sky—have yet to secure meaningful votes, though many top validators have not yet participated.

Over half of the total stake (57%) remains unassigned, including influential validators such as Nansen x HypurrCollective (over 18%) and Galaxy Digital. Their eventual votes will likely determine if Native Markets’ early momentum sustains through the September 14 deadline.

Native Markets is advocating for a Hyperliquid-native stablecoin via Stripe’s Bridge infrastructure, offering yield-sharing for the Assistance Fund and HYPE buybacks. Critics, like Agora CEO Nick van Eck, warn that Stripe’s simultaneous Tempo blockchain launch and control of Privy wallet could pose conflicts, though some validators see Stripe’s global payment network as a major advantage.

The vote has major implications. Hyperliquid currently holds $5.5 billion in USDC deposits, roughly 7.5% of the stablecoin’s supply. Switching to USDH could redirect hundreds of millions in annual treasury yield. Competing issuers propose:

Paxos: 95% of reserve earnings to HYPE buybacks
Frax: 100% of yield to users
Agora: 100% net yield plus institutional custodianship
Sky: 4.85% returns plus $25M “Hyperliquid Star” DeFi initiative

Hyperliquid already dominates nearly 80% of decentralized perpetuals trading. The winning issuer won’t just launch a token—they’ll integrate deeply into one of crypto’s fastest-growing exchanges.

Market Snapshot

BTC: $114,053 (+2.6% 24h, +2.1% 7d, -3.9% MoM), reflecting a short-term rebound.
ETH: $4,373.99 (+2%), shrugging off a mass validator slashing event.
Gold: ~$3,635/oz, after Tuesday’s $3,674 peak; ANZ projects $3,800 year-end and $4,000 by June.
Nikkei 225: Mixed; +0.23% (Nikkei) / -0.18% (Topix) after U.S. market highs.
S&P 500: 6,532.04 (+0.3%), supported by softer wholesale prices and rate-cut optimism.