Token Buybacks Surge in Crypto as Projects Emulate TradFi

Token buybacks are becoming increasingly popular among crypto projects, with over $640 million spent on this practice so far in 2026. According to data, this represents a 17% increase from the same period last year and is nearly an order of magnitude more than the $366,000 spent in 2024. Hyperliquid and Pump.fun are leading the charge, accounting for almost 90% of current spend.

Proponents argue that buybacks can create demand for a token while reducing supply, making each token more valuable. This can also give holders a more tangible connection to the economic activity on the underlying protocol. Orest Gavryliak, chief legal officer at decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, notes that projects typically have one of two objectives in mind: either to decrease the token supply or demonstrate the rationale for investing in protocol revenues.

However, there's a flipside to consider: every dollar spent on buybacks is a dollar not spent on hiring developers, expanding the business, strengthening the balance sheet, or building the product. As co-founder and chief executive of Spark Sam MacPherson points out, 'the question should be: what is the highest-value use of the next dollar of surplus?'

MacPherson also notes that buybacks can support token economics without improving the underlying business. He suggests that a protocol with genuine surplus may decide to use some of that money for buybacks, but equally, a project limping along might attempt to do so simply to move the price.