Crypto Assets Could Double as Revenue-Driven Buybacks Gain Traction

Crypto assets could see significant gains as more blockchain protocols turn their revenues into token buybacks and burns, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan. This trend is expected to shape crypto valuations beyond Bitcoin.

Hougan notes that investors have not yet priced in the growing relationship between protocol revenue and native-token value, leaving some assets undervalued. Protocols like Hyperliquid, Uniswap, Aave, Pump.fun, and Lighter are demonstrating different approaches to connecting protocol activity with native-token economics.

Hyperliquid has generated over US$800 million in revenue last year, allocating 99% of its fee income towards buying and burning HYPE. Other protocols like Uniswap generate around US$100 million annually, while Aave targets approximately US$30 million in yearly token burns.

The approach is spreading to layer-1 networks, with Solana considering a proposal that could increase fee burns by up to 14 times and Aptos reporting almost three times the transaction activity after a tenfold gas-fee increase.