Crypto’s Wall Street Moment: Why Crypto Firms Spent $600 Million on Token Buybacks
The crypto industry is gradually moving closer to Wall Street, adopting TradFi-like financial incentives to reward cryptocurrency holders and help boost the value of their native tokens.
Token buybacks are similar to public companies buying back their own shares to help boost their price and make their stock more appealing to investors. If this is new to you, take note, because projects are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on token buybacks, creating massive organic demand for these coins.
It’s visible in the charts too. The native tokens of the two protocols spending the most on buybacks each gained 200% and 110%, respectively, outperforming Bitcoin and other altcoins by a drastic margin in 2026, despite the broader crypto bear market.
If you didn’t know about token buybacks, your portfolio is missing out on some of the best-performing crypto market outliers. Stick around to find out which protocols spend hundreds of millions of dollars on buybacks and how you can take advantage.
Top crypto firms spent a record $638 million on token buybacks
Cryptocurrency firms spent a record $638 million on token buybacks in the first 8 months of 2026, a steep increase from $545 million during the same period in 2025 and just $366,000 spent during 2024.
However, two emerging protocols accounted for the lion’s share of this amount, according to Allium Labs data cited by the Financial Times
Of the total $638 million, decentralized exchange Hyperliquid contributed about $370 million, while memecoin creation platform Pump.fun spent nearly $200 million, together accounting for nearly 90% of all buybacks.
The record buybacks came during a broader crypto market downturn, when much of the risk capital left the blockchain industry to pursue AI-related investment opportunities and mega IPOs. Some of the most vocal crypto advocates, such as former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, liquidated most of his altcoin holdings in pursuit of investment opportunities in the broader tech sectors.
Token buybacks lift HYPE, PUMP from crypto bear market’s gravity
Token buybacks bolstered the HYPE and PUMP tokens to become the clear winners of the crypto bear market, outperforming Bitcoin and the altcoin sector with triple-digit gains.
Year-to-date, HYPE is up by 207% and the PUMP coin by 117%, drastically outperforming Bitcoin’s 8% decline since the beginning of 2026, according to TradingView.
Hyperliquid allocates 99% of protocol revenue to token buybacks, translating into hundreds of millions of dollars in buying demand that supports HYPE’s value. Hyperliquid spent over $140 million on token buybacks in Q1 of 2026 alone, according to its quarterly report.
Pump.Fun also spends 50% of net protocol revenue on buying back tokens from the open market. This brings significant net inflows for the PUMP token, as the memecoin launchpad averages over $400 million in annualized revenue.
Token buybacks to double crypto valuations amid “revenue revolution”
Crypto valuations will double in the next 2 years as more protocols turn their revenue into buybacks, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. He wrote in a recent forecast:
“If I’m right that the link between revenue and token value is strong and getting stronger, we could see valuations double or more as the market catches up with reality. For years, revenue was the best argument against crypto. It’s about to become the best argument for it.”
Hougan explained that the crypto industry’s turn towards token buybacks was a reminder of the nascent days of internet companies like Facebook, “before they figured out advertising.”
“I suspect both DeFi apps and Layer 1 blockchains have far more pricing power than people think,” wrote Hougan, adding that he expects these platforms to capture more revenue over the “next 12-24 months.”
Hyperliquid was the clear winner in buybacks in terms of revenue percentage as well, but other DeFi protocols are also starting to allocate more significantly towards token acquisitions, according to DeFi researcher Edgy. But it’s worth considering an allocations in the other DeFi protocols’ native tokens, as even smaller buybacks can have an outsized price effect on the coins with smaller market capitalizations.
More crypto firms adopt token buybacks to boost token holder value
Token buybacks are still rare in the cryptocurrency space, but more of the leading projects are exploring them, along with other financial incentives from Wall Street’s playbook.
The Ethena Foundation recently proposed a plan to funnel 95% of net protocol revenue from Ethena’s core business lines to fund token buybacks. The protocol’s native token demonstrated strong investor demand for adopting token buyback mechanisms, with visible volume spikes following the revelation of the early-stage proposal.
The ENA token rose by 57% since the Ethena Foundation’s token buyback proposal at the end of August, according to CoinStats data.
Hyperliquid and Pump.fun were the clear leaders in token buyback spending, but other DeFi protocols are also starting to follow suit.
Other projects that are delivering gradual buybacks include Aave. Sky, Jupiter, GMX, Aerodrome, Raydium, EtherFi and LayerZero. However, the US dollar amount of these buybacks pales in comparison to both Hyperliquid and Pump.fun’s buyback efforts.
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