Ethena Exits USDH Race Ahead of Vote

Ethena, the team behind the USDe synthetic dollar protocol, has withdrawn its bid to issue Hyperliquidโ€™s USDH stablecoin, conceding to concerns raised in direct discussions with community members and validators.ย 

In a X statement Thursday, the Ethena team acknowledged pushback over not being a Hyperliquid-native project and said it would step aside, congratulating rival Native Markets, now viewed as the frontrunner in the race.

โ€œWhile some are complaining about their lack of credibility (Native Markets) I think their success here perfectly embodies everything which is so special about Hyperliquid and their community,โ€ said Ethena Labs founder Guy Young, adding:

โ€œIt is a level playing field where emergent players can win the hearts of the community and are given a fair shot at succeeding.โ€

Ethenaโ€™s withdrawal marks a major shift in the bidding process, which has drawn proposals from multiple teams to issue USDH, Hyperliquidโ€™s forthcoming native stablecoin.ย 

With Ethena out, prediction markets on Polymarket are giving Native Markets a 92% chance of winning, with Paxos in second place at roughly 7% at time of writing.

Polymarket’s traders now give Native Markets a 92% win. Source: Polymarket

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.