Token Buybacks Are an Increasingly Popular Strategy in the Crypto Ecosystem

Token buybacks have become an increasingly popular strategy in the crypto ecosystem, similar to stock buybacks in traditional financial markets.

Token buybacks, a strategy familiar in traditional financial markets, are entering the crypto ecosystem. This occurs when a project acquires part of its own circulating tokens and removes them from the market, either to hold in reserve or burn them permanently, reducing the total supply and potentially increasing the token’s price.

The logic is based on the law of supply and demand: if the supply decreases and demand remains steady or grows, the price should increase. This contrasts with traditional financial markets, where a company buying back its own stock is generally seen as a negative sign, indicating that the company may not have better investment opportunities.

In the crypto sphere, however, projects like Aave, dYdX, Hyperliquid, and Jupiter are implementing token buyback programs. In early March 2025, Aave announced a weekly buyback program of one million dollars in AAVE for six months, funded by protocol fees.

This initiative arose from a community proposal on Aave Snapshot and was approved by a majority vote. Following this vote, Aave's founders expressed their intention to personally donate one million dollars per week for six months to a community-driven wallet, which would use the funds to buy AAVE in the market and send them to a "burn address," effectively removing them from circulation.

At the same time, dYdX approved "Proposal #225," which aims to repurchase DYDX tokens using platform revenues. The proposal, submitted by dYdX's founders, passed with 99.9% of the vote and will see the founders personally contribute five million dollars to a community-driven wallet.

This wallet will be tasked with buying DYDX tokens on a rolling basis over a period of six months, with the goal of increasing the token price floor and reducing the total supply of DYDX in the market. The initiative will be funded by diverting a portion of the protocol's revenue, currently generated primarily through trading fees, towards the buying operations.

Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange aggregator, is also planning to launch a token buyback program. The project's community members voted in favor of allocating 50% of the protocol's revenue towards a treasury that will be used to buy back and burn HRLQ tokens.

The goal of this program is to increase the value of the HRLQ token and provide benefits to liquidity providers and stakers. The initiative will begin in the second quarter of 2025 and continue until the total supply of HRLQ tokens is reduced to 100 million.

Finally, Jupiter, a cross-chain liquidity protocol, has also joined the trend with its own buyback plan. The project's community members voted to allocate 50% of the protocol's revenue towards a treasury that will be used to buy back and burn JUPITER tokens.

This initiative is expected to start in the third quarter of 2025 and will continue until the circulating supply of JUPITER tokens is reduced to 500 million.

Benefits for investors

The benefits of token buybacks are clear for investors. Firstly, they reduce the circulating supply and create scarcity, potentially driving up the market price. Secondly, they are a sign of the project's financial stability and commitment to long-term sustainability.

Some projects, like Aave and Gains Network, choose to redistribute the repurchased tokens to stakers or holders, which can strengthen community loyalty and commitment. However, some analysts suggest that buybacks can serve as a way to create artificial demand and hide internal financial problems.

Moreover, there is a risk of potential market manipulation and increased regulatory scrutiny from entities like the SEC. As this trend develops, it will be interesting to see how regulators address these practices and whether clear regulatory frameworks are established to avoid conflicts or abuses.

The growing adoption of this mechanism could indicate an evolution in the tokenomics models of crypto projects. However, the long-term success of this strategy will depend on the projects' ability to balance supply and demand appropriately without negatively impacting liquidity and transaction volume.