Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise, suggests that institutional adoption and regulatory shifts could significantly impact the growth of the NEAR and Hyperliquid networks. He highlights that investors are increasingly evaluating these assets through traditional financial metrics like revenue generation and token buybacks.
The NEAR Intents trading product processed a record $4.8 billion in September, marking a nearly 900% increase year-over-year. Since February, users have paid over $29 million in fees, leading to $5.3 million in token buybacks. While these repurchases do not yet offset new token issuance, growth in activity may change this dynamic over time.
Hyperliquid currently leads the decentralized perpetual futures market with nearly $1 billion in revenue. A key feature for institutional interest is that 99% of trading fees are used to buy back HYPE tokens. This mechanism allows investors to analyze the project using models similar to equity share repurchases.
Rasmussen notes that digital asset treasury companies and ETFs are key drivers of demand for both tokens. However, he warns that treasury firms may become sellers depending on market conditions, and that both networks face significant competition from centralized exchanges and established financial platforms.
