How to motivate USDC distribution channels? Starting from Hyperliquid collaboration and the on-chain 9:1 attribution

Author: @lufeieth

Editor: Wu Says Blockchain

TL;DR

• Circle has signed USDC distribution cooperation agreements with over 150 companies, promoting USDC growth, product development, and distribution through economic incentives. For large enterprises that can significantly expand the usage of USDC, Circle can also design cooperation arrangements in conjunction with Coinbase.
• According to the revenue-sharing arrangement between Circle and Coinbase, for USDC outside both platforms, after deducting third-party ecosystem incentives approved by both parties, the remaining "ecosystem economic benefits" are split 50% each by Circle and Coinbase.
• The cooperation arrangement with Hyperliquid involves Coinbase, Circle, and Hyperliquid. As of the end of the quarter, approximately 90% of the USDC held by Hyperliquid is on the Coinbase platform, and about 10% is on the Circle platform; the corresponding on-chain balances are currently $4.952 billion and $550 million, respectively.
• The aforementioned 90%/10% refers to the allocation ratio of USDC funds counted on the Coinbase and Circle platforms, and does not equal the final revenue distribution ratio among the three parties. Circle has not disclosed the precise revenue-sharing terms of the Hyperliquid cooperation and its arrangement with Coinbase.

During Circle's (CRCL) Q2 2026 earnings call, management focused on responding to questions regarding USDC distribution channel incentives, the cooperation mechanism between Circle and Coinbase, and USDC revenue distribution within the Hyperliquid platform.

Circle's CEO stated that the company has long promoted partners to distribute USDC and develop products around USDC through economic incentives. For large enterprises that can significantly drive USDC growth, Circle also has the capability to design corresponding cooperation arrangements with Coinbase.

However, Circle did not disclose the precise revenue-sharing terms of the Hyperliquid cooperation. What can be confirmed from this earnings call is that Coinbase, Circle, and Hyperliquid are all involved in this cooperation; as of the end of the quarter, approximately 90% of the USDC held by Hyperliquid is on the Coinbase platform, and about 10% is on the Circle platform. This fund allocation can also be observed through on-chain addresses.

Circle has signed USDC distribution cooperation agreements with over 150 companies

When discussing the channel incentive mechanism for USDC, Circle's CEO stated:

"We currently have a large number of distribution incentive arrangements, and many partners are building on our network. In fact, there are thousands of companies in our network. We have signed distribution cooperation agreements with over 150 companies, promoting USDC growth, developing products based on USDC, and distributing USDC. We have been doing this for a long time. In fact, we often collaborate with Coinbase on such partnerships."

In other words, incentivizing channel distribution of stablecoins by relinquishing part of the economic benefits is not a new idea that Circle adopted only after facing OUSD. Circle has long employed a similar model and has signed distribution cooperation agreements with over 150 companies.

However, this does not mean that all channels accessing USDC will receive the same incentives, nor does it mean that Circle will distribute all related revenues to partners. Circle will select core channels that can drive USDC growth, development, and distribution, and then design distribution incentives based on specific partners and use cases, with actual sharing ratios varying by cooperation.

Circle and Coinbase are willing to jointly introduce large distribution channels

Circle's CEO further stated during the earnings call:

"We are fully capable of establishing very high-quality, mutually beneficial distribution cooperation arrangements with large enterprises. You just mentioned the example of Hyperliquid, and there are certainly other cases."

He also mentioned:

"We see a strong interest from many large enterprises in joining the USDC network. We have seen this globally. When we believe a company can significantly drive USDC growth and adoption, we have every opportunity to establish corresponding cooperative relationships with Coinbase."

This means that Circle may still sign third-party distribution incentive agreements with more large enterprises in the future. For example, if a large entry point like Samsung Wallet can significantly promote the use and distribution of USDC in the future, Circle and Coinbase may jointly design corresponding cooperation mechanisms for this.

The interests of Coinbase and Circle on this issue are not entirely opposed. For high-quality third-party channels capable of expanding the scale of USDC, both parties are motivated to first expand the overall market for USDC and then distribute the corresponding revenues according to existing agreements.

According to the revenue-sharing arrangement between Circle and Coinbase, for USDC outside both platforms, after deducting third-party ecosystem incentives approved by both parties, the remaining portion is referred to as "ecosystem economic benefits," which are then split 50% each by Circle and Coinbase. Therefore, important third-party channels receiving incentives do not necessarily mean that Circle bears all the costs unilaterally; Circle and Coinbase can jointly participate in related cooperation.

How is Hyperliquid's revenue actually distributed?

Autonomous analyst Ken Suchoski asked during the earnings call:

"On the Hyperliquid platform, 90% of the interest income from USDC belongs to Hyperliquid. So does the remaining 10% get distributed between Circle and Coinbase at a 50/50 ratio?"

Circle's CFO responded:

"Regarding the Hyperliquid cooperation arrangement, all three parties—Coinbase, Circle, and Hyperliquid—are involved. Through on-chain data, you can accurately see where the funds on the Hyperliquid platform are located and whether these funds are counted on the Circle platform or the Coinbase platform. As of the end of the quarter, approximately 90% of the total USDC held by Hyperliquid is on the Coinbase platform, and about 10% is on the Circle platform. As for how Circle and Coinbase specifically share the revenue, we will not comment further on the precise details of the arrangements between the two parties."

The CFO's response confirmed that all three parties are involved in the Hyperliquid cooperation arrangement but did not directly confirm the specific revenue distribution method proposed by the analyst. The precise sharing ratio and detailed terms between Hyperliquid, Circle, and Coinbase remain undisclosed commercial arrangements.

It is also necessary to distinguish between two different "90%/10%" groups: the "90%" referred to by the analyst indicates the proportion of interest income received by Hyperliquid; the "90%/10%" mentioned by the CFO refers to the allocation of USDC held by Hyperliquid counted on the Coinbase and Circle platforms. The latter does not equate to the final revenue distribution ratio among the three parties.

How to observe the on-chain allocation of Hyperliquid's USDC?

The CFO mentioned that the location of USDC on the Hyperliquid platform and whether the related funds are counted on the Circle or Coinbase platform can be observed through on-chain data.

Currently, the USDC balance attributed to the Coinbase platform is $4.952 billion, corresponding to the Coinbase Treasury Deployer address on HyperEVM.

The USDC balance attributed to the Circle platform is $550 million, corresponding to the Circle CoreDepositWallet address on HyperEVM.

The AQAv2 system will actively maintain the USDC balances in the two addresses at around 90% and 10%. System transactions will continuously rebalance the two addresses to keep them close to a 1:9 ratio.

Therefore, when observing the total amount of USDC on Hyperliquid and its allocation between Circle and Coinbase, the following formula can be used:

Hyperliquid AQAv2 USDC ≈ Circle CoreDepositWallet balance + Coinbase Treasury Deployer balance

The balance ratio of the two on-chain addresses is basically consistent with the structure disclosed by the CFO during the earnings call: approximately 90% attributed to the Coinbase platform and about 10% attributed to the Circle platform.

The core of USDC channel incentives is to jointly expand distribution scale

From the responses of Circle's management, it is clear that attracting third-party channels through economic incentives is not a temporary competitive strategy but part of the long-term distribution mechanism of USDC. Circle has signed relevant agreements with over 150 companies and is willing to work with Coinbase to design cooperation arrangements for large enterprises that can significantly drive USDC growth.

Hyperliquid demonstrates how this model operates in practice: third-party platforms are responsible for expanding the usage scale of USDC, while Circle and Coinbase jointly participate in the cooperation arrangements, with funds on the platform allocated according to the approximately 90% and 10% structure counted on Coinbase and Circle, respectively.

However, the on-chain fund allocation can only help the outside world observe which platform USDC is counted on and cannot directly deduce the final revenue ratios obtained by the three parties. Regarding the specific sharing between Hyperliquid, Coinbase, and Circle, what can currently be determined is still just a rough framework, and the precise terms have not been disclosed.