8 dự án “bò tiền mặt” hàng đầu trong thị trường gấu: Dự án có giá trị mua lại lớn nhất đạt 283 triệu USD trong năm

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜Wenser (@wenser 2010)

As global stock markets undergo phased adjustments, the crypto bear market continues. Yet amidst the bleak market, several crypto projects are still demonstrating strong cash-generating capabilities.

According to Tokenomist data, since January this year, eight crypto projects, including Hyperliquid, Meteora, and Pump.fun, have seen their token buyback volumes far exceed supply increases. Notably, HYPE's buyback alone reached $283 million, accounting for 3% of its total supply. In the same market environment, the survival conditions of crypto projects are starkly different. Odaily Planet Daily will briefly review these eight "cash cow" projects that continue to generate cash flow, offering readers insight into the true "buyback kings" of the current crypto market.

The "Eight Titans" of Bear Market Cash Flow: Perp DEX, DeFi, and Memecoin Launchpad Make the List

According to Tokenomist data, as of June 30, the eight projects with year-to-date token buyback volumes exceeding circulating supply growth are:

• MET: Buyback Ratio 71%; Supply Growth +13%;
• PUMP: Buyback Ratio 7%; Supply Growth -24%;
• GMX: Buyback Ratio 21%; Supply Growth +1%;
• RLB: Buyback Ratio 10%; Supply Growth -8%;
• MPLX: Buyback Ratio 8%; Supply Growth -8%;
• HYPE: Buyback Ratio 3% ($283 million value); Supply Growth -11%;
• LIT: Buyback Ratio 1%; Supply Growth 0%;
• AAVE: Buyback Ratio 1%; Supply Growth +1%.

Among them, Meteora (MET) has the most significant impact of buybacks on circulating supply. Its supply has only increased by 13%, currently reported at 535.4 million tokens, while the buyback volume has reached 71% of the January token supply, amounting to 336.2 million tokens. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid (HYPE) has the largest buyback capital, reaching $283 million, equivalent to 3% of its token supply, while its token supply decreased by 11% over the same period. Detailed introductions are as follows.

Hyperliquid: Year-to-Date Buyback Capital Reaches $283 Million

According to CryptoBriefing data, since the beginning of 2026, Hyperliquid has spent up to $283 million on token buybacks, setting a record for the largest buyback capital in the industry. As of July 3, the cumulative token buyback amount has exceeded $1.1 billion.

On March 20 last year, Hyperliquid officially launched its token buyback mechanism, stating that 97-99% of Hyperliquid's trading fees are used directly to purchase and burn HYPE tokens. By October last year, HYPE token buyback capital had reached $645 million. Quarterly data shows a gradual increasing trend in buyback scale: $316.76 million in Q3 2025; $255.05 million in Q4 2025; $192.25 million in Q1 2026. Previously, the average monthly buyback capital ranged between $65 million and $85 million.

Currently, the Hyperliquid platform has burned 44 million HYPE through buybacks, accounting for approximately 4.4% of the total supply.

Presently, the HYPE token price is around $70. Additionally, according to DefiLlama data, as of July 5, Hyperliquid's cumulative platform fees are approximately $1.412 billion, with a total TVL of around $5.854 billion; annual fees are approximately $1.072 billion.

Pump.fun: Year-to-Date Buyback of Over $71 Million in PUMP Tokens

In March 2024, the meme craze ignited from the Solana ecosystem swept across the entire crypto market, with Pump.fun quickly becoming the hottest meme coin launchpad. Although the meme coin hype subsequently cooled, Pump.fun has remained active in the crypto market, maintaining its status as a cash cow project through mechanisms like token launches, product updates, and creator revenue shares.

Data shows that Pump.fun has cumulatively bought back over $400 million worth of PUMP tokens, covering approximately 145.5 billion PUMP. The buyback program started in July 2025 and has lasted for a cumulative 346 days.

Since April this year, Pump.fun has been using 50% of its net revenue for token buybacks and burns, with the remaining revenue allocated to operations, hiring, and acquisitions.

DefiLlama data shows that since its launch in January 2024, the platform has generated approximately $1.13 billion in fees and $1.05 billion in revenue. Fees in the last 30 days have dropped to about $18.66 million.

Currently, the PUMP token price is around $0.0016.

Lighter: Year-to-Date Buyback of Over 15 Million LIT Tokens

As another on-chain Perp DEX platform following Hyperliquid, Lighter's answer is a combination of "compliance plus buybacks."

Recently, Lighter founder and CEO Vladimir Novakovski announced he has joined the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Innovation Advisory Committee as a member. Previously, Lighter officially announced integration with Robinhood Wallet, allowing users to trade perpetual contracts directly via the wallet. Combined with the positive news of token buybacks, the LIT token price has recently seen a good uptick.

According to Lighter's official announcement on July 1, since the first token buyback started in January this year, approximately 15.5 million LIT tokens have been bought back and burned, accounting for 6.3% of the total circulating supply.

According to DefiLlama data, Lighter's cumulative fee revenue is approximately $68 million, with a TVL of around $507 million; protocol revenue over the past 30 days is approximately $2.38 million.

Currently, the LIT token price is around $2.59.

Aave: Year-to-Date Buyback Capital Exceeds $13.7 Million

On April 9, 2025, the Aave buyback proposal passed with an overwhelming 99.63% approval rate. According to the proposal, Aave would conduct weekly buybacks of $1 million for the subsequent six months, with the first buyback executed on April 10.

By July last year, the protocol had cumulatively spent $10 million to buy back 50,000 AAVE tokens at an average cost of $199.74. Based on the market price of $264 at that time, this treasury reserve had generated an unrealized gain of approximately $3 million. (Supplementary reading: 《Aave Economic Model Overhaul: Anti-GHO Mechanism + Token Buyback Propels AAVE Up 20% 》)

This year, after the KelpDAO security incident involving over $290 million, Aave triggered a "DeFi trust crisis" due to bad debt issues. In less than a week, capital outflows exceeded $17 billion (in TVL), and it once faced a near $8.5 billion deposit run risk. Subsequently, through founder capital injections and fundraising via the DeFi United campaign, Aave successfully navigated the crisis. However, the AAVE token and platform TVL inevitably suffered severe shocks.

It's worth noting that in October last year, Aave's buyback of AAVE tokens had already exceeded 100,000, with a total cost of approximately $24 million. In March this year, Aave initiated and eventually passed a proposal to reduce the annual buyback budget from $50 million to $30 million. Currently, Aave has bought back over 200,000 AAVE tokens. At the end of last month, Aave CEO Stani stated that the team is designing Aavenomics 3.0, planning to introduce a new automated, non-discretionary buyback mechanism, emphasizing that "AAVE will never be sold at a 30% discount."

According to DefiLlama data, as of July 6, the Aave protocol has generated cumulative fees of $2.218 billion; TVL is currently reported at $13.4 billion.

Currently, the AAVE token price is around $89.

Meteora: Year-to-Date Cumulative Buyback Capital Exceeds $45 Million

In December last year, Meteora officially stated that it had deployed 10 million USDC for buybacks in Q4 2025, recovering approximately 2.3% of MET. The total future amount wille held by the same buyback address for ongoing autonomous buybacks.

According to Tokenomist data, the circulating supply of MET tokens increased from 472.8 million on January 1, 2026, to 535.4 million (out of a total supply of 1 billion), a growth of 13.2%. Simultaneously, Meteora officially bought back 336.2 million tokens, valued at $45.75 million, which accounts for 71% of its token supply at the start of the year.

In February this year, Meteora was embroiled in controversy after on-chain detective ZachXBT exposed insider trading by employees. However, it ultimately weathered the storm thanks to the platform's strong ties to the Solana ecosystem and the Jupiter ecosystem, remaining active in the crypto market. Recently, its Season 2 LP incentive campaign has just concluded, with related rewards to be distributed subsequently.

According to DefiLlama data, its cumulative trading volume is approximately $322.2 billion; TVL is currently reported at $320 million; its protocol revenue over the past 30 days was $1.92 million.

Currently, the MET token price is around $0.17.

GMX: Year-to-Date Buyback Capital Reaches $14.88 Million

As early as July 2024, GMX had initiated a proposal to buy back GMX tokens and distribute them. In November last year, GMX proposed increasing the fee coverage for buybacks and distributions from 27% to 90%, and raising the GMX Treasury allocation ratio to 73% to support token buybacks and airdrop mechanisms. This was expected to increase the monthly GMX buyback amount to 345,534 tokens, valued at $8.489 million.

By October 23 last year, GMX had bought back approximately 1.33 million tokens. Subsequently, GMX continued its token buyback program. In March this year, GMX DAO passed a governance plan to adjust buybacks and liquidity to restore price discovery.

According to an announcement by GMX on July 1, between March 5 and June 30 this year, it spent $1.965 million to buy back 313,650 GMX tokens at an average price of $6.27, with Q2 buyback capital amounting to $1.41 million. According to Tokenomist data, the current GMX buyback volume accounts for approximately 41.22%.

According to DefiLlama data, GMX's cumulative trading volume is close to $330 billion; TVL is currently reported at $175 million; protocol revenue for the last 30 days is approximately $662,000.

Currently, the GMX token price is around $5.86.

Apart from the platforms above, the token buyback mechanisms