Hyperliquid and Pump.fun Dominate Crypto Buybacks in 2026

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid and memecoin launchpad Pump.fun reportedly accounted for almost 90% of the record $638 million spent on token buybacks by crypto projects so far in 2026. According to Allium Labs data cited by the Financial Times, crypto projects have spent $638 million repurchasing their own tokens year-to-date, compared with $545 million during the same period in 2025 and just $366,000 in 2024.

Hyperliquid was responsible for roughly $370 million of this year’s total, while Pump.fun accounted for nearly $200 million. Token buybacks work in a similar way to share repurchases by publicly traded companies, which buy back their own stock in an effort to support prices and increase value for existing shareholders.

Token buybacks gain traction across crypto

Although buybacks remain relatively uncommon in the crypto sector, more projects are beginning to adopt the strategy. On Thursday, the Ethena Foundation opened voting on a fee-switch proposal that would direct 95% of the net revenue it receives from Ethena’s core business lines toward repurchasing Ethena (ENA) tokens. Following the proposal, ENA rose 10.7% on the day.

The growing use of protocol revenue for buybacks reflects a broader shift toward mechanisms designed to return value directly to token holders.

HYPE and PUMP outperform the wider market

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and Pump.fun’s PUMP token have significantly outperformed the broader crypto market so far in 2026. HYPE has gained 145% year-to-date, while PUMP has risen 109%. Over the same period, Bitcoin (BTC) declined 10% and the total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell by 11.9%, according to TradingView data.

Hyperliquid directs around 99% of its revenue toward token repurchases. The platform reported $169 million in second-quarter revenue on Aug. 6 and used $141 million of that amount to buy back HYPE. Pump.fun, meanwhile, allocates approximately 50% of its net protocol revenue to PUMP repurchases. Based on its average daily revenue over the past 90 days, the memecoin launchpad currently generates around $420 million in annualized revenue.

Buybacks could reshape crypto valuations

The rise in token repurchase programs has fueled expectations that crypto projects could increasingly be valued based on revenue generation and shareholder-style capital return mechanisms. Earlier in August, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said crypto valuations could potentially double over the next two years as more protocols use revenue to fund token buybacks and burns, returning greater value to investors.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/b3e84c50-c761-4179-beac-68641e61207e?syn-25a6b1a6=1

https://cointelegraph.com/news/hyperliquid-pumpfun-90-record-638m-crypto-buybacks

https://www.tradingview.com/chart/JBpUV8Q8/?symbol=BITSTAMP%3ABTCUSD

https://pump.fun/pump-token