DeFi Turns Deflationary: Buybacks Surge Across Leading Protocols
The post DeFi Turns Deflationary: Buybacks Surge Across Leading Protocols appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
A new wave is sweeping across decentralized finance. Instead of printing new tokens, top protocols are using real revenue to buy back and burn supply. It’s a shift from inflationary emissions to deflationary economics, where sustainability and long-term holder value take priority. Over the past few weeks, major names like Aave, EtherFi, Aster, Maple Finance, Venus, and zkSync have all introduced new buyback or revenue allocation models. Together, these moves signal a broader trend: the age of “real yield” and token value capture is officially here. Aave Approves $50M Annual Buyback Program Leading lending protocol Aave has approved a $50 million per year buyback initiative, one of the largest ever seen in DeFi. The mandate routes a portion of Aave’s protocol revenue toward open-market purchases of $AAVE, effectively tightening circulating supply. For years, Aave relied on growth incentives to bootstrap liquidity. Now, it’s pivoting toward consolidation and value accrual for long-term holders. This marks a turning point for DeFi governance, where success is measured not just by total value locked (TVL), but by how much profit flows back to the token itself. EtherFi DAO Greenlights $50M ETHFI Buyback Staking protocol EtherFi DAO followed suit, approving a $50 million $ETHFI buyback to strengthen its token’s price floor and treasury balance sheet. The move comes as EtherFi continues to dominate the liquid staking market, with over $5B in total value locked and deep integrations across the Ethereum ecosystem. By redirecting protocol earnings into buybacks rather than emissions, EtherFi is reinforcing value capture through deflation, a model that’s quickly becoming the new standard among major DAOs. The DAO also aims to establish ETHFI staking mechanisms, allowing holders to earn yield directly from buyback revenues. Aster Allocates 70–80% of Fees to Buybacks Over on Aster, the tokenomics redesign is even more aggressive. The project…
