Crypto projects have deployed approximately $640 million on token buybacks so far in 2026, a 17 percent increase from the same period last year. In 2024, buyback spending totaled $366,000.
Hyperliquid and Pump.fun collectively comprise almost 90 percent of current buyback activity. Hyperliquid has allocated 99 percent of its revenue to buy back and burn its native HYPE token. Pump.fun directs 50 percent of revenue toward buying and burning PUMP, having removed $446.65 million worth of the token from circulation.
The mechanism is straightforward: protocols use a portion of generated revenue to acquire their native tokens on the open market, then burn them to reduce total supply and create upward price pressure. This establishes a direct economic link between protocol performance and token valuation.
Orest Gavryliak, chief legal officer at decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, said that communicating "bought and burned tokens" is more intuitive for users than explaining governance rights or fee structures.
Max Shannon, senior research associate at Bitwise Europe, noted that buybacks and burns create a continuous bid for tokens in the open market, directly connecting token success to protocol activity.
The strategy carries an opportunity cost. Capital deployed on buybacks cannot be used for hiring developers, expanding operations, strengthening balance sheets, or product development.
Some protocols employ variations. DeFi infrastructure protocol Spark has acquired over 143 million SPK tokens through open-market buybacks funded by protocol surplus. Unlike Hyperliquid and Pump.fun, Spark's acquired tokens remain in the treasury for future distribution to long-term participants and ecosystem contributors.
