Hyper Foundation Unveils $10M Builder Fund

Hyper Foundation has announced a grant program worth approximately $10 million to support builders caught up in the wind-down of its USDH stablecoin. The grant program targets builders who built on top of USDH and now need to either migrate their projects to USDC or wind them down in an orderly fashion. The fund is designed to cover migration expenses or help projects shut down cleanly, with a deadline of end of July 2026.

Who Qualifies and How Grants Are Calculated

Eligible recipients include HIP-1 spot deployers, HIP-3 perpetual deployers, HyperEVM protocols, dedicated USDH:USDC bridge operators, and Native Markets. The grants fall into two categories: migration grants support teams replacing USDH with USDC, while wind-down grants assist projects ending USDH-related operations. Wind-down grants will be smaller than migration grants, as teams that opt to move have more technical work and require extra resources.

Grant amounts for HIP-1 and HIP-3 participants are determined by the costs of deployment via auction, while grants to HyperEVM protocols are based on the amount of USDH total value locked impacted by the sunset. All eligible recipients have been reached out to and have started the transition process, the Foundation said. To smooth the transition for everyday users, feeless conversion paths to USDC are being made available, with bridges like Across on HyperEVM allowing traders to swap their USDH holdings for USDC without incurring transaction costs during the changeover period.

Why USDH Is Being Phased Out

USDH is being phased out just seven months after its debut. Launched in September 2025 by Native Markets following a competitive governance vote, it was designed as a Hyperliquid-native, yield-generating dollar-pegged asset to reduce reliance on external stablecoins and redirect revenue back to $HYPE token holders. However, total stablecoins on Hyperliquid's L1 reached $5.31 billion, with USDC accounting for $4.97 billion (93.7%), while USDH held just $91.5 million (1.73%) and was shrinking.

Coinbase has since become Hyperliquid's official treasury deployer for USDC as an aligned quote asset (AQA), with USDH set to sunset over time as USDC expands its role within the ecosystem. As part of the transition, Native Markets has agreed to terms granting Coinbase the right to purchase the USDH brand assets. Half of the prior USDH reserve yield is being routed to $HYPE buybacks through the Assistance Fund, meaning the reserves that once backed USDH are partially being recycled into supporting the platform's native token on the way out.

Sources:
Crypto Briefing: Hyper Foundation allocates $10M in grants to ease USDH stablecoin shutdown
Live Bitcoin News: Hyperliquid Rolls Out $10M Grant Initiative for Builders