Circle Makes Strategic Move into Hyperliquid
The company Circle, part of the stablecoin ecosystem, has made an investment in Hyperliquid and has also launched its USDC stablecoin. Circle is actively assessing the possibility of becoming a network validator and now directly owns Hyperliquid’s HYPE token.
Circle stated on X that this launch represents the initial step in permitting USDC deposits into Hyperliquid’s spot and perpetuals exchange on HyperCore.
On June 5, 2023, Circle went public. The company behind USDC, a digital asset with 1:1 redemption for US dollars, is implementing the stablecoin natively on HyperEVM, the protocol’s smart contract layer.
Also Read : SEC Chair Says Most Crypto Tokens Are Not Securities in Major U.S. Regulatory Shift
The Hyperliquid Ecosystem and Validator Network
Hyperliquid is a Layer-1 blockchain DeFi protocol focused on derivative trading. Since its launch, the platform has reached a trading volume of $330 billion.
Key participants in the protocol’s native stablecoin partner selection include Paxos, Frax, Sky, Agora, Ethena, OpenEden, BitGo, and Native Markets. The validator community voted for Native Markets to issue Hyperliquid’s forthcoming stablecoin USDH.
A validator is a token holder who stakes HYPE tokens to secure the blockchain and validate transactions. The top 21 validators are responsible for proposing and confirming blocks. Currently, around 430 million HYPE tokens are staked. Key validators include Galaxy Digital, Flowdex, and the Hyper Foundation, which funds further development.
DeFi Growth and On-Chain Adoption
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is gaining traction in 2025 with the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and on-chain treasuries of digital assets. Total value locked (TVL) across all protocols, according to DefiLlama, is now $158 billion, up from $117 billion in December—a 35% rise in 9 months.
A surprising rebound in memecoins has also occurred, with Pump.fun exceeding $1 billion in daily trading volume on Monday, showing renewed retail and speculative interest in DeFi.
