💯 (Counterargument) Is LINK a memecoin? After the post by The White Whale below, a member of the Chainlink community (user Fishy Catfish) responded as follows 👇 📌 The White Whale's original argument: "There is no revenue share flowing to holders. No dividends. No protocol profits are distributed downward. Holding LINK does not help you receive a portion of oracle fees in any direct, mechanical way. Just this alone is enough to reshape expectations. The value proposition is not 'owning a part of Chainlink's revenue,' but rather 'owning exposure to the belief that this token will be more valuable in the future.'" 🚨 This argument is clearly wrong. 👉 1) Weekly token buybacks are revenue flowing back to holders The weekly buybacks (which have increased from around $1M to $1.1–$1.2M per week) that are added to the Chainlink Reserve are actually revenue generated from the protocol's adoption, and this cash flow directly benefits token holders. The off-chain revenue generated by Chainlink is used to buy LINK on the open market, then added to the Chainlink Reserve. This is a value accrual mechanism shared with all holders, not just stakers. These buybacks will continue to grow and be sustainable in the long term, while token unlocks (until the entire supply is in circulation) will eventually stop. 👉 2) BUILD rewards for stakers are real yield The BUILD rewards for stakers, although not yet large, are real yield, not just narrative. Distributing value into a token is not difficult. It's actually very easy. There are countless ways to do it. The real challenge is building the best technology, achieving widespread adoption, and winning the market. What's important about the current buybacks is not the absolute numbers, but two key points: (1) This is a clear signal and affirmation of intent: the token is the sole destination for value distribution, not equity for competing stakeholders. (2) Chainlink has already built a real on-chain mechanism to enable this value distribution. In addition to buybacks, you can also add other supply sinks (e.g., staking requirements for nodes), as well as other forms of value accrual beyond buybacks (yield). Most major tech companies take over a decade before they start doing meaningful buybacks. Chainlink is doing this after just 8 years. Note: the current buybacks are not all of Chainlink's revenue, but only the portion used to repurchase tokens. The rest is being reinvested into the protocol to build the best possible system and win the market.