Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan on Wednesday said crypto is becoming a revenue-driven market and most investors have not noticed yet, creating a valuation gap that could double prices across major DeFi tokens.
Why Does Hougan Say Crypto Valuations Look too Low?
Hougan wrote in a Wednesday Bitwise note that for years, the biggest criticism of crypto was that tokens generated no revenue for holders.
That changed when Paul Atkins replaced Gary Gensler at the SEC and Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) won its landmark case in August 2025.
Revenue is now back on the table and the biggest crypto projects are moving fast to capture it.
What Each Project Is Actually Doing
Each project runs the same playbook: generate real revenue, then use it to permanently buy and burn their own tokens, reducing supply the same way a stock buyback reduces share count.
Hyperliquid: $800M in Revenue, 99% Funneled Into Buybacks
Hyperliquid, as measured by Hyperliquid Strategies Inc (NASDAQ:PURR), generated over $800 million in revenue last year and uses roughly 99% of it to buy and burn HYPE tokens.
Since launch, it has bought back $1.3 billion worth, permanently removing that supply from circulation.
Uniswap: A Record Burn and an All-Time-High Market Share
Uniswap (CRYPTO: UNI) burned 100 million UNI tokens worth roughly $590 million in December 2025 and now takes in about $100 million in annual revenue, all used to buy and burn more UNI.
By July, its decentralized exchange (DEX) market share hit an all-time high, and the token is up 35% since July 1.
Aave and Pump.fun: Smaller Scale, Same Playbook
Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE) runs weekly buybacks through its Aavenomics 3.0 program and has repurchased more than 1.2% of total supply, targeting roughly $30 million in annual burns.
