TLDR:
- Ethena Labs withdrew from Hyperliquid’s USDH bid after acknowledging validator and community concerns.
- Founder Guy Young said Ethena will focus on hUSDe, USDe savings, and new HIP-3 market designs.
- Hyperliquid’s community favored a native team, signaling strong grassroots support for local builders.
- Ethena continues development on hedging flows and synthetic dollars despite stepping back from USDH.
The Hyperliquid community has spoken, and Ethena Labs is stepping back. The team has withdrawn its proposal to issue USDH, the network’s stablecoin. Instead of pushing forward, the move lets validators support a native team.
Ethena says this decision follows direct talks with community members and validators. The firm now plans to double down on building its own product stack on Hyperliquid.
Community Pushback Halts Ethena’s USDH Ambitions
Ethena Labs founder Guy Young confirmed the withdrawal in a post on X, citing concerns from validators and users.
He acknowledged feedback that Ethena is not a Hyperliquid-native team and that its roadmap goes beyond a single exchange. These concerns, he said, were valid and deserved to be respected.
The last few days have been incredible to witness. I've never seen a community rally around and engage with passion like this before.
Following direct discussions with individuals in the community and validators we have taken onboard some of the concerns, namely:
-Ethena is not…
— G | Ethena (@gdog97_) September 11, 2025
The Hyperliquid community leaned toward a team it sees as closer to the ecosystem. Validators were encouraged to signal support for other proposals after Ethena stepped aside.
Young congratulated Native Markets, the leading team in the USDH race, saying their win showed Hyperliquid’s fairness.
The decision closes the chapter on what had been a competitive selection process for USDH’s issuer. Rather than force a split vote, Ethena chose to exit and focus on its own products. This kept the process cleaner for validators deciding the future of the stablecoin.
Guy Young called the level of community engagement “incredible” and said it reflected the spirit of Hyperliquid. The process gave smaller teams the chance to compete on equal footing with larger players.
Next Ethena Steps? hUSDe, Savings, and HIP-3 Markets
With USDH off the table, Ethena is focusing on building synthetic dollars, savings products, and trading infrastructure.
Young outlined plans for hUSDe, a native synthetic dollar designed for Hyperliquid users. The team will also roll out USDe-enabled savings and card spending tools to expand its utility.
Ethena’s roadmap includes enabling hedging flows directly on Hyperliquid. This would give traders new ways to manage exposure and risk across markets. Young also mentioned work on HIP-3 markets, which could unlock reward-bearing collateral and modular prime broking.
Perpetual swaps on equities are also in the pipeline, offering new tools for advanced traders. The team said these products are what truly excite them, not just the yield from treasury bills.
Ethena emphasized that stepping away from USDH does not slow its broader mission. Instead, it frees the team to compete on product design and execution across the crypto space.
