Ethena bids to issue Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin backed by Anchorage and Blackrock

Ethena has formally proposed to manage USDH, Hyperliquid’s planned native stablecoin, positioning itself against rivals Sky, Frax, Agora, and others.

According to Ethena’s (ENA) Sept. 9 governance submission, the stablecoin would be backed by USDtb, a payment token to be issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Oct. 1, and indirectly collateralized by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. 

Ethena argued that this structure combines institutional credibility with compliance and scalability, noting that it has already minted and redeemed over $23 billion of tokenized dollar assets without downtime.

Anchoring USDH to institutional partners

Under the plan, USDH would launch fully backed by USDtb, which Ethena says is the only stablecoin BlackRock has approved for collateralization in BUIDL. Anchorage, the first OCC-chartered crypto bank in the U.S., would serve as issuer and custodian.

Ethena also secured public support from partners. Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, called USDtb “uniquely positioned to offer institutional-grade cash management as well as on-chain liquidity.” Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley added that the arrangement would provide Hyperliquid with “a sovereign stablecoin that helps the ecosystem grow.”

To align incentives, Ethena pledged to direct at least 95% of net revenues from USDH reserves back to the Hyperliquid community. That includes contributions to the Assistance Fund and Hyperliquid (HYPE) token buybacks, with the option of distributing yield directly to staked validators in a later governance vote.

Security and Hyperliquid ecosystem growth fund

Ethena’s proposal places strong emphasis on security, citing concerns that a mismanaged stablecoin could pose systemic risks to Hyperliquid’s markets, where stable assets back every perpetual trading pair.

To mitigate this, the team suggested governance by an elected guardian network of validators, potentially including LayerZero (ZRO), with authority to freeze or reissue tokens during crises.

Beyond stablecoin issuance, Ethena pledged to invest at least $75 million in incentives to grow Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 front-ends and support new products such as hUSDe, a Hyperliquid-native derivative of Ethena USDe (USDE).

The firm said its existing $13 billion USDe balance sheet could be deployed to stabilize liquidity across Hyperliquid’s markets, reinforcing its claim of being the most capable partner to scale USDH to multi-billion supply.

With over $5 billion in USD Coin (USDC) currently circulating on Hyperliquid, the decision over who will issue USDH could shape the exchange’s risk profile for years. Ethena, already behind USDe, the third-largest crypto dollar, presents its candidacy as both a safe and ambitious option.