Crypto projects have spent a record $638 million on token buybacks in 2026, with Hyperliquid and Pump.fun accounting for nearly 90% of the total.
HYPE$83.57-0.37%
PUMP$0.004303-11.52%Crypto projects are spending more of their revenue on token buybacks, and two protocols are dominating the trend.
Hyperliquid and Pump.fun have reportedly accounted for nearly 90% of the record $638 million spent on crypto token buybacks so far in 2026, according to Allium Labs data cited by the Financial Times.
The figure marks a sharp increase from previous years and highlights a growing shift toward using protocol revenue to support token value.
Crypto projects have repurchased approximately $638 million worth of their own tokens year-to-date in 2026.
That compares with $545 million during the same period in 2025 and just $366,000 in 2024, according to Allium Labs data.
Source: Crypto groups spend record $640mn buying back their own tokens
Hyperliquid accounts for roughly $370 million of this year's total, while Pump.fun has spent nearly $200 million on buybacks.
Together, the two protocols represent almost 90% of the market's total token repurchases.
Token buybacks work similarly to stock buybacks. Companies use profits or excess cash to purchase their own shares, potentially reducing the amount available in the market and increasing the value attributable to remaining shareholders.
Crypto protocols are increasingly applying the same concept to their native tokens.
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Hyperliquid has emerged as the biggest buyer of its own token.
The decentralized perpetual futures exchange reportedly directs about 99% of its revenue toward HYPE buybacks.
Hyperliquid generated approximately $169 million in second-quarter revenue, with around $141 million directed toward HYPE purchases, according to figures reported on Aug. 6.
The strategy has coincided with strong HYPE performance.
HYPE has gained roughly 145% year-to-date, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and the broader crypto market in 2026.
The combination of strong protocol revenue and aggressive buybacks has made HYPE one of the market's strongest-performing large crypto assets.
Pump.fun is another major contributor to the buyback boom.
The memecoin launchpad allocates approximately 50% of its net protocol revenue toward token repurchases.
The protocol currently generates around $420 million in annualized revenue, based on its average daily revenue over the previous 90 days.
PUMP has gained roughly 109% year-to-date, despite Bitcoin falling about 10% and the total cryptocurrency market capitalization declining nearly 12% over the same period.
The performance suggests that investors are increasingly rewarding protocols with a direct mechanism for returning revenue to token holders.
The buyback trend is beginning to spread beyond Hyperliquid and Pump.fun.
The Ethena Foundation recently opened a vote on a proposed fee switch that would direct 95% of net revenue received from Ethena's core business toward ENA token repurchases.
ENA gained around 10.7% following the proposal, highlighting how quickly markets can respond when protocols introduce mechanisms designed to connect revenue with token value.
This shift could become increasingly important as investors demand clearer economic value from crypto tokens.
Many tokens give holders governance rights but provide limited direct exposure to the revenue generated by their underlying protocols. Buybacks and token burns offer projects a way to change that dynamic.
The growing scale of buybacks has already caught the attention of institutional investors.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan argued earlier this month that crypto valuations could potentially double over the next two years if protocols increasingly use revenue for token buybacks and burns.
The logic is straightforward: stronger protocols generate more revenue, while buybacks reduce the number of tokens available in the market.
However, buybacks alone do not guarantee higher prices. Sustainable demand, protocol revenue and continued user growth remain critical.
For now, the numbers show a clear trend. Crypto projects are increasingly treating their tokens like financial assets backed by real protocol cash flows.
With Hyperliquid and Pump.fun responsible for nearly 90% of 2026's record buybacks, their performance could provide an early test of whether revenue-driven token economics can become a broader crypto market standard.
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