Ansem: Buybacks Actually Don’t Do Much – Intangible Value Matters More Than Tangible Value

Odaily News Renowned trader Ansem posted on X, stating that buybacks (for token prices) actually don’t have much effect.

Ansem further noted that Hyperliquid's annualized revenue is $800 million, while Pump.fun's annualized revenue is $440 million; however, HYPE's FDV is as high as $65 billion, whereas PUMP's FDV is only $1.4 billion. Both teams regularly use a portion of their business profits for buybacks, yet their P/S ratios are vastly different.

This disparity doesn't stem from how much revenue the businesses actually generate, but rather reflects the market's "trust premium" for the teams — a trust determined by their actions and decisions in the market. Hyperliquid never over-promises, focuses purely on product delivery, and generously rewards core users who contribute the most to the platform based on established metrics. In contrast, Pump.fun generated $1 billion in revenue, raised another $1 billion in an ICO, and promised users an airdrop, but has yet to deliver. Despite being one of the most successful and profitable businesses in the crypto industry, they lack a social consensus bond with their core user base and thus cannot achieve the trust premium that Hyperliquid enjoys.

Therefore, what determines a business's valuation includes not only the "tangible value" derived purely from revenue and other metrics but also "intangible value." Trust, memetics, and attention are all crucial in the market, yet they are currently discussed far too little.