{"id":34701,"date":"2026-07-17T05:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/ansem-says-token-buybacks-cannot-fix-weak-crypto-valuations\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T05:37:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:37:31","slug":"ansem-says-token-buybacks-cannot-fix-weak-crypto-valuations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/ansem-says-token-buybacks-cannot-fix-weak-crypto-valuations\/","title":{"rendered":"Ansem says token buybacks cannot fix weak crypto valuations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Crypto trader Ansem has questioned whether token buybacks can create lasting value on their own, pointing to the wide valuation gap between Hyperliquid\u2019s HYPE and Pump.fun\u2019s PUMP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_8ec0ebc2b2d9f3ff2b9ba6580cbaba22\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ansem argues recurring token buybacks cannot overcome weak community trust or poor alignment with users.<\/li>\n<li>HYPE trades at a far richer valuation than PUMP despite both platforms using profit-funded buybacks.<\/li>\n<li>Pump.fun\u2019s delayed airdrop remains central to Ansem\u2019s view that PUMP lacks Hyperliquid\u2019s trust premium.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/blknoiz06\/status\/2077773554033037509?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 17 X post<\/a>, he argued that both businesses generate large revenues and regularly repurchase their tokens, yet the market values them very differently.<\/p>\n<p>According to Ansem\u2019s figures, Hyperliquid generates about $800 million in annualized revenue and carries a fully diluted valuation near $65 billion. Pump.fun, by comparison, generates roughly $440 million in annualized revenue while PUMP trades at an FDV of about $1.4 billion. He said the contrast challenges the view that recurring buybacks alone determine crypto valuations.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI have a thesis that buybacks don\u2019t actually work,\u201d Ansem wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>His broader argument was that market confidence, community alignment and a project\u2019s record of delivering on commitments can create an additional \u201ctrust premium\u201d that financial metrics cannot fully measure.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">i have a thesis that buybacks don&#8217;t actually work<\/p>\n<p>hyperliquid makes $800M annualized revenue<br \/>pump fun makes $440M annualized revenue<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%24HYPE&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">$HYPE<\/a> trades at $65B FDV while <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%24PUMP&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">$PUMP<\/a> trades at $1.4B FDV<\/p>\n<p>both teams do regularly recurring buybacks with portions of their profits from the\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ansem \ud83d\udc02\ud83c\udc04\ufe0f (@blknoiz06) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/blknoiz06\/status\/2077773554033037509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hyperliquid and Pump.fun show different results from buybacks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ansem pointed to Hyperliquid as a platform that built strong confidence among core users. He said the team focused on shipping products without overpromising and rewarded users according to measurable activity. In his view, that approach strengthened trust and helped HYPE command a higher valuation relative to revenue.<\/p>\n<p>Hyperliquid also operates one of crypto\u2019s largest token repurchase programs. As previously reported by crypto.news, its Assistance Fund directs most protocol fees toward continuous open-market HYPE purchases. By May 2026, the mechanism had spent more than $1.3 billion on buybacks.<\/p>\n<p>Pump.fun has also committed substantial resources to supporting PUMP. However, its token has struggled despite aggressive repurchases and burns. As crypto.news reported ahead of the July vesting event, the platform had spent $233 million buying back 62.2 billion PUMP by early January and later carried out a large token burn.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Pump.fun distributed 57.279 billion PUMP worth about $86.49 million to 121 team and investor wallets on July 15, beginning a three-year vesting cycle after a one-year lockup. The transfers made the tokens available to move but did not confirm that recipients sold them.<\/p>\n<p>Ansem argued that the missing factor is community trust. He pointed to Pump.fun\u2019s previously discussed user airdrop, which has not yet been delivered, as a source of weaker alignment with its core audience. Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen said in July 2025 that an airdrop remained planned but would not arrive in the immediate future.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, Ansem said Pump.fun could potentially close part of its valuation gap by improving communication and delivering the distribution expected by users. That remains his market thesis rather than a guarantee of future price performance. He estimated that stronger community alignment could raise PUMP\u2019s valuation and activity.<\/p>\n<p>He also cited Bitcoin as an example of what he views as an extreme trust premium. Bitcoin produces no business revenue, yet its fixed 21 million supply and established network rules support a far larger valuation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Crypto trader Ansem has questioned whether token buybacks can create lasting value on their own, pointing to the wide valuation gap between Hyperliquid\u2019s HYPE and Pump.fun\u2019s PUMP.\u00a0 Summary Ansem argues&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34702,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34701\/revisions\/34702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}