The battle for Hyperliquid’s USDH ticker is a referendum on what crypto wants to be: a community-first public good, or a globally scaled, institution-ready product.

With the clock ticking toward the proposal and voting deadlines, Agora’s Nick van Eck and Paxos Labs’ Bhau Kotecha lay out their cases—100% revenue back to users vs. 95% with enterprise distribution, “Hyperliquid alignment” versus “bring it to the masses,” and what each would build on day one if they win.

We also dig into liquidity, slippage claims, validator dynamics, and how a single ticker could shape the future of onchain markets.

Thank you to our sponsors ⁠⁠Mantle⁠⁠!

Guests:

Nick van Eck, CEO and Co-founder of Agora
Bhau Kotecha, Co-founder of Paxos Labs

Links:

Unchained:

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

⏱️ 0:45 How Laura breaks down the background of the proposals

💵 2:12 Why the USDH ticker matters so much for Hyperliquid

🌊 4:04 Why Hyperliquid is an ecosystem “you need to be in”

📜 5:38 How Agora explains its proposal to return all revenue

🏦 10:08 How Paxos makes its case for enterprise distribution

🤝 14:03 Why “Hyperliquid alignment” is central to this debate

🎁 17:05 Why Agora says it’s willing to give back 100% of revenue—what’s in it for them

💸 19:26 Why Paxos is pushing for 95% revenue back instead of 100%

🚀 24:03 What each side would build on day one if they win

⚖️ 31:49 How to characterize the differences between the two proposals

❓ 34:11 What it would mean if neither Agora nor Paxos wins

📉 39:23 Whether Paxos’s PYUSD suffers from slippage and liquidity issues

🗳️ 42:08 What voters should really consider when choosing a proposal

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Episode 64: Helen Lloyd