Crypto Enters the Era of Value Investing I’m getting more interested in tokens I can value using the money their protocols actually earn. Crypto now has businesses with paying users, recurring revenue, and mechanisms that return part of that revenue to the token. That gives me a much stronger reason to research something beyond its next catalyst. Zeneca’s latest research estimates annual spending on token buybacks and burns grew from $190M in 2021 to $1.85B in the year to Oct 2026. Coverage has expanded, but the scale is still worth paying attention to. So I believe we’re getting more opportunities to price a token against measurable demand funded by its own business. From a macro perspective, I still care about liquidity, rates, and risk appetite. Those conditions affect what investors are willing to pay. But I also want to understand what can sustain demand for a token when fresh speculative money slows down. A protocol earning money from customers and consistently buying its token gives me something concrete to evaluate. Hyperliquid is a clear example, its Assistance Fund converts trading fees into HYPE, and those tokens are burned. Usage creates a direct source of token demand. Pendle offers a different model: 80% of V2 yield and swap fees fund PENDLE buybacks, with repurchased tokens distributed to eligible active sPENDLE holders. That rewards participation, but has different supply effects from a permanent burn. I can be bullish on a protocol and still pass on its token. The product might be growing while most of the economics go to liquidity providers, the team, or the treasury. Fees, protocol revenue, and value returned to holders are separate numbers. So I’m paying closer attention to: → Revenue that holds up after incentives decline. → The amount actually reaching holders. → Buybacks relative to emissions and upcoming unlocks. → The growth already assumed by today’s valuation. If a token’s price halves while its dollar buyback budget stays unchanged, that budget can purchase twice as many tokens. For a business that keeps earning and burning, a drawdown can make each dollar of buybacks more effective. The difficult part is checking whether the revenue will hold up. Annualizing one exceptional trading week can make an expensive token look cheap. I think some of the best research opportunities are finding protocols whose earnings are more durable than their valuation suggests. I’m ranking conviction in the business and token mechanics; valuation still determines whether I’d buy. [1] $HYPE - Trading fees flowing through Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund buy HYPE & burned. [2] $PENDLE - 80% of V2 yield and swap fees fund buybacks distributed to eligible active sPENDLE holders. [3] $SKY - Protocol surplus funds SKY purchases for burns or staking rewards, with new emissions disabled. [4] $RAY - 12% of pool trading fees fund RAY buybacks + trading activity and competition determining how durable those purchases are. [5] $PUMP - Its current program commits 50% of revenue to buybacks and burns for one year from April 2026. [6] $PONS - Its published V1 model directs 80% of protocol fees into PONS buybacks and burns. [7] $STONK - StonkFun has measurable spending on STONK purchases. But the recent revenue slowdown makes me cautious about projecting last month’s earnings forward. PONS and STONK are particularly interesting research candidates because small valuations and meaningful buybacks can coexist. The opportunity depends on how much revenue survives when activity cools. A low multiple calculated during a launch frenzy can disappear quickly if earnings fall faster than the token price. For anyone who wants to research this themselves, this i the quick calculation: Buyback multiple = market cap ÷ annual spending on token buybacks. A $1B token receiving $50M in annual buybacks trades at 20× that spending. I’d also check FDV and future supply, then recalculate using quieter periods. Tools that make this easier: - @DefiLlama: compare revenue and holder revenue across 7-, 30-, and 90-day periods. Read each protocol’s methodology. - @coingecko: check market cap, FDV, supply, and trading markets. - @Tokenomist_ai: check available unlock and emissions schedules. - @solscanofficial / @blockscout: verify purchases, burns, supply, and treasury movements. The setup that excites me is a growing business, meaningful value reaching its token, and a price that still underestimates both. That gives me a thesis I can track, update, and build conviction around.