Keyrock: Crypto’s Buyback Boom Tests the Industry’s Financial Maturity

Amir Hajian, head of research at Keyrock, argues that the surge in crypto token buybacks, which have increased over 400% since 2024, is testing the industry's financial maturity. While buybacks aim to signal confidence by reducing circulating supply, much of this spending is drawn from treasuries rather than recurring revenue, potentially draining future runway. Hajian notes that revenue-distributing protocols return an average of 64% of revenue to holders, far exceeding traditional DAOs' reinvestment rates. To achieve true maturity, protocols must move beyond hype-driven spending and adopt restraint, tying repurchases to valuation metrics, cash flow strength, and market conditions, such as through trigger-based or options-based models. He advises that buybacks should only occur when revenues are recurring, treasuries are robust, and valuations suggest the token is fundamentally undervalued, emphasizing that discipline, not just the policy itself, measures crypto's evolution from distributing promise to managing profit.

(Source：CoinDesk)