Follow the money
A venue can process billions in volume without creating the same amount of economic value. Trading fees are one flow; funding payments between traders are another. Gross fees may then fund liquidity providers, infrastructure, incentives, reserves or token-related mechanisms.
A buyback is a mechanism, not a payment to everyone
Read the current rule and its execution record. Is the allocation discretionary? Is it based on gross fees or net revenue? Are purchased tokens burned, retained or distributed? Does another reserve supply the burn? Different answers identify different recipients and supply effects.
Avoid counting the same dollar twice
If a source already includes buybacks in holder revenue, adding buyback dollars again overstates the flow. Burning a token from a reserve is not a second dollar of cash paid to holders. Staking rewards funded by new issuance are also different from rewards funded by external revenue.
Compare complete periods
Annualizing one unusually strong month can hide incentives or a temporary volatility burst. Examine complete 30- and 90-day periods, product scope and trading conditions. Then compare the documented token rule with completed transactions; an observed fee is not automatically an observed token benefit.
Further reading & sources
By the PerpsAtlas research desk · Educational analysis · Published 22 September 2026 · Substantially updated 28 SEP 2026.
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