{"id":9219,"date":"2026-07-03T01:54:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/ousd-stole-hyperliquids-homework-then-hit-circle-with-it\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T01:54:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:54:35","slug":"ousd-stole-hyperliquids-homework-then-hit-circle-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/ousd-stole-hyperliquids-homework-then-hit-circle-with-it\/","title":{"rendered":"OUSD stole Hyperliquid\u2019s homework \u2014 then hit Circle with it"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p>Yesterday, a massive new competitor, Open USD (OUSD), arrived to displace Circle Internet Group, issuer of the world\u2019s second-largest stablecoin, USDC. Behind its glamorous roster of financial titans was a stablecoin inspired by Hyperliquid\u2019s USDH.<\/p>\n<p>The list of OUSD backers is long and powerful; a who\u2019s who of the world\u2019s largest payments conglomerates.<\/p>\n<p>It reads as though a crypto investor wished on a star and every dream came true.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify, Western Union, MoneyGram, Coinbase, OKX, Ripple,<\/strong> and <strong>MetaMask<\/strong> all appeared on the press release.<\/p>\n<p>The consortium will cooperatively benefit from the interest on reserves backing OUSD. HyperLiquid popularized this idea of shared revenue from stablecoin reserves when it launched its USDH.<\/p>\n<p>Circle\u2019s common stock <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/CRCL\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">collapsed<\/a> by 17% on Tuesday, erasing $3.3 billion in market capitalization in less than seven hours.<\/p>\n<p>Behind it all was a Hyperliquid-inspired stablecoin model.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How OUSD cost Circle $3.3 billion in one day<\/h2>\n<p>Hyperliquid is an <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/hyperliquid-has-some-growing-to-do-before-it-can-take-on-binance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upstart competitor of Binance<\/a> and other crypto exchanges.<\/p>\n<p>It made a media splash in 2025 due to controversial features like influencer-backed <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/hyperliquid-growth-driven-by-leveraged-degeneracy-trade-sharing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">copytrading funds<\/a>, highly leveraged trading pairs, and a leaderboard of degeneracy.<\/p>\n<p>As Hyperliquid grew, it decided to launch its own blockchain and stablecoin, USDH.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Embracing an unconventional go-to-market strategy, Hyperliquid decided to diverge from the typical stablecoin model where the issuer enjoys all of the passive yield from the stablecoin\u2019s reserves.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Hyperliquid launched a scheme to reward a consortium that would collaboratively operate USDH and share the passive interest payments.<\/p>\n<p>In much the same way, OUSD is a new <a href=\"https:\/\/joinopenstandard.com\/blog\/introducing-open-usd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stablecoin<\/a> that a consortium of more than 140 companies will operate. Its economic design pulls pages from Hyperliquid\u2019s USDH playbook.<\/p>\n<p>Open Standard, the entity behind OUSD, will not charge consortium members to mint or redeem tokens.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most of the interest earned on its US Treasury bonds will also disburse to partners. Open Standard, as the operator, will keep only a small management fee.<\/p>\n<p>Circle\u2019s centralized USDC, by contrast, <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/why-is-tether-213-bigger-than-circle-but-8000-more-profitable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keeps<\/a> the yield on its reserves and shares it with almost nobody except <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/circle-vs-tether-reserve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">except<\/a> Coinbase.<\/p>\n<p>The consortium stablecoin model, spearheaded by Hyperliquid and taken to unimaginable heights with OUSD, is a direct attack on Circle\u2019s business. Investors noticed immediately, panicking out of Circle\u2019s common stock yesterday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"735\" src=\"http:\/\/protos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-8.58.41-PM-2-1024x735.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-127648\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">CCircle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL). Source: TradingView.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The yield is the moat<\/h2>\n<p>Operating a stablecoin is one of the most profitable endeavors in the crypto industry.<\/p>\n<p>Tether, the world\u2019s largest stablecoin issuer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-10-24\/stablecoin-leader-tether-expects-profit-to-increase-to-15-billion-this-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claims<\/a> to be one of the most profitable companies per employee on the planet. <\/p>\n<p>A stablecoin issuer may simply own risk-free <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/resource-center\/data-chart-center\/interest-rates\/TextView?type=daily_treasury_bill_rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">US Treasury<\/a> bonds yielding around 4% as reserves. The customer holds non-yield bearing tokens. The issuer pockets all the interest.<\/p>\n<p>At USDC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/usdc.org\/stats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">current<\/a> supply of roughly $73 billion, that annual profit is worth about $2.7 billion a year.<\/p>\n<p>Crypto trader Luke Cannon recognized the structure of OUSD instantly. \u201cThis is basically the USDH proposal except instead of Agora, Paxos, and Native Markets, it\u2019s Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, Blackrock, Google, Samsung, IBM, Western Union,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lukecannon727\/status\/2071958953794191384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-protos wp-block-embed-protos\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"6P8WK56Pn4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/why-is-tether-213-bigger-than-circle-but-8000-more-profitable\/\">Why is Tether 213% bigger than Circle but 8,000% more profitable?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><em>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/circle-vs-tether-reserve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circle vs. Tether: What\u2019s in the reserves?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hyperliquid wrote the script in September<\/h2>\n<p>In September 2025, Hyperliquid opened up a governance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.galaxy.com\/insights\/research\/stablecoin-usdh-ticker-hyperliquid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vote<\/a>. Validators chose an issuer for the exchange\u2019s native dollar token, USDH.<\/p>\n<p>Bidders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coingecko.com\/learn\/what-is-usdh-hyperliquid-native-stablecoin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">included<\/a> Paxos, Ethena, Agora, Frax, and Sky. Each bidder competed by offering ever-larger shares of the reserve yield back to the Hyperliquid ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Native Markets, a Stripe-aligned entrant, proposed a 50\/50 split. Paxos pledged 95%. Agora pledged 100%.<\/p>\n<p>Open Standard frames OUSD in similar terms.<\/p>\n<p>The launch post <a href=\"https:\/\/joinopenstandard.com\/blog\/introducing-open-usd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argues<\/a> that \u201cExisting stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that\u2019s open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Translated into plain English, that means the titans of finance will share OUSD\u2019s interest payments, please and thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jerallaire\/status\/2071965910890385876\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried<\/a> to calm the panic yesterday to little avail. \u201cUSDC remains the most trusted, widely adopted, institutional-ready stablecoin in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CRCL closed at $62.63, down from a previous close of $75.96. Volume hit 37.5M shares, or 2.7x the daily average.<\/p>\n<p>The stock is now 76% below its 52-week high after losing more than 17% of its value during yesterday\u2019s trading session.<\/p>\n<p><em>Got a tip? Send us an email securely via\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/leaks.protos.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Protos Leaks<\/em><\/a><em>. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/protos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/protos.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Bluesky<\/em><\/a><em>, and\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqJAgKIh5DQklTRUFnTWFnd0tDbkJ5YjNSdmN5NWpiMjBvQUFQAQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Google News<\/em><\/a><em>, or subscribe to our\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/protosmedia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0channel.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/ousd-stole-hyperliquids-homework-then-hit-circle-with-it\/\">OUSD stole Hyperliquid\u2019s homework \u2014 then hit Circle with it<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/\">Protos<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, a massive new competitor, Open USD (OUSD), arrived to displace Circle Internet Group, issuer of the world\u2019s second-largest stablecoin, USDC. Behind its glamorous roster of financial titans was a stablecoin inspired by Hyperliquid\u2019s USDH. The list of OUSD backers is long and powerful; a who\u2019s who of the world\u2019s largest payments conglomerates. It reads [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-invest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handoli.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}