$638M Crypto Buyback Boom Fuels Hyperliquid and Pump.fun Tokens

Crypto projects have spent a record $638 million on token buybacks so far in 2026, up from $545 million during the same period last year. According to Allium Labs data cited by the Financial Times, decentralized exchange Hyperliquid and memecoin launchpad Pump.fun accounted for nearly 90% of this total, with Hyperliquid responsible for around $370 million and Pump.fun for roughly $200 million.

Token buybacks are similar to share buybacks in traditional markets, where companies repurchase their own stock to support prices and increase returns for existing shareholders. While still relatively rare in the crypto industry, more projects are adopting this strategy, with some even using revenue from core business lines to fund token buybacks.

The Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Pump.fun (PUMP) tokens have outperformed the broader cryptocurrency market decline so far in 2026, rising 145% and 109%, respectively. This is compared to a 10% drop in Bitcoin's price and an 11.9% decline in total crypto market capitalization.