Hyperliquid and pump.fun lead $640M crypto token buyback surge

Crypto protocols have spent roughly $638 million buying back their own tokens so far in 2026, according to blockchain analytics firm Allium Labs. That figure already exceeds the $545 million recorded during the same period last year, and it dwarfs the $366,000 spent across all of 2024. Two platforms are responsible for the vast majority of that spending: Hyperliquid and pump.fun, which together account for nearly 90% of total buyback volume. How a perpetuals exchange became the poster child for buybacks Hyperliquid launched in late 2024 as a decentralized perpetuals exchange, and it wired buybacks directly into its revenue model from day one. The protocol routes approximately 99% of its trading fees into what it calls an Assistance Fund, which continuously buys and burns its native HYPE token on the open market. Hyperliquid’s total buybacks have exceeded $1.1 billion since launch, with some estimates putting the figure closer to $1.3 billion. For context, the entire crypto industry spent less than $400,000 on buybacks in 2024. HYPE has reportedly surged around 70% over the relevant period, with analysts pointing to the buyback model’s consistency as a key driver of sustained demand...