Crypto Projects Spend Record $638 Million on Token Buybacks — Only Two Are Winning

Crypto projects have spent a record $638 million buying back their own tokens this year, and nearly 90% of it came from just two of them.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Pump.fun (PUMP) have both more than doubled since January. The four other projects running repurchase programs range from a 20% gain to a 39% loss.

Crypto Projects Spend $638 Million on Token Buybacks: Did It Work? 

Allium Labs data puts this year’s repurchases at $638 million. That compares with $545 million during the same period last year and just $366,000 across all of 2024.

Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures, leads in buybacks. It routes 99% of of its protocol and trading fees into repurchasing HYPE. 

It has retired $1.3 billion of the token since December 2024. The token set another all-time high last week as a fresh buyback engine went live.

Pump.fun uses half of every dollar it earns to buy back PUMP on the open market and permanently burn the tokens. The project has deployed $442.94 million that way, burning 163.03 billion tokens. That equals 16.3% of the total supply.

Sky Protocol (SKY) has bought about $26 million worth of its SKY tokens, according to Allium. Lido (LDO) also has a program called NEST, which uses a portion of protocol revenue to buy LDO when certain thresholds are met.

Chainlink (LINK) has also conducted token buybacks. Finally, Jupiter (JUP) has spent nearly $14 million on token buybacks so far this year.

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Token Prices Show Mixed Results Despite Buybacks

Notably, when it comes to the price, the results diverge. HYPE has gained 217.9% since January 1 and set a record of $86.71 on August 27. PUMP rose 124.5% over the same stretch.

The other tokens delivered far weaker returns. SKY added 20.1%, and JUP gained 9.3%, while LINK fell 7.6% and LDO dropped 39%.

Timing complicates that reading, however. August brought a broader crypto market rally that lifted many tokens, making it harder to isolate the impact of buybacks.

Through July 31, HYPE was the only token showing a major gain, up 106.3% since the start of the year.

PUMP had risen just 8.2% by then, and LINK was down 33%. August alone added 107.5% to PUMP and 37.9% to LINK.

Thus, the data shows that aggressive buybacks can coincide with strong token performance, but they do not guarantee it. HYPE and PUMP delivered outsized gains alongside substantial repurchases, while LDO and LINK still struggled despite buyback activity.

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