10 key insights from @BinanceResearch’s June 2025 report on the evolution of token models. Tap & hold to load infographic summary in 4K.

#2. Governance as token utility hasn’t worked. Only 1% of UNI wallets increased their position post-airdrop. 98% never voted. Governance sounds good in theory. In practice? Just exit liquidity.

#3. Liquidity mining began with Synthetix in July 2019. The model quickly spread across DeFi. But governance didn’t sustain demand. 98% of airdrop recipients never participated. Most holders sold.

#4. Projects like Axie Infinity and Helium used multi-token models to separate speculation from utility. One token for value accrual, another for network use. But in both cases, the split didn’t hold. Speculators piled into the wrong token, incentives misaligned, and value fractured. Both reverted back to simplified models.

#5. Private funding exploded in 2021–2022. • 2021: $41.46B • 2022: $40.12B That’s more than 2x the entire 2017–2020 cycle combined. But this pattern hasn't been repeated since.

#7. In 2025, token launches are adjusting: • Circulating float has increased • Average FDV dropped from $5.5B → $1.94B Tokens that launched with higher float, lower FDV performed better post-listing. The market seems to be rewarding transparency and supply realism.

#8. Token buybacks are resurging. Protocols like @aave, @dYdX, @HyperliquidX , and @JupiterExchange have all launched structured burn programs using protocol revenue to buy and burn tokens from the market. A signal of financial strength, but also a stopgap for unresolved token utility.

#9. @HyperliquidX burned $8M+ in $HYPE, funded by 54% of trading fees. But no yield flows to token holders buybacks just support price. Critics argue buybacks = misallocated capital. Rather than rewarding holders, they induce artificial scarcity. Yield-bearing tokens would better align incentives.

#10. @believeapp is the emerging player in the ICM movement, allowing users to create tokens effortlessly on the Solana blockchain by posting on X with a specific format, such as ‘$TICKER + @launchcoin’, which triggers automatic token deployment via a bonding curve model.

#11. Despite all innovation, token utility remains unresolved. • Governance failed. • Buybacks are a crutch. • Points farming is short-term.

The 2021 meta: hype + low float The 2025 meta: revenue + redeemability PDF of the research↓