He cites Uniswap’s proposal to burn a portion of the UNI token and implement a protocol fee, along with the growing focus on staking for XRP, as key examples of this value-capture trend.
Bitwise’s CIO, Matt Hougan, believes a 2026 market rebound is possible thanks to a structural shift where crypto tokens are moving from vague governance protocols to economic designs that better capture economic value for holders.
In a post on X, Hougan argued that recent market weakness is obscuring a structural change in token design. Earlier generations of tokens, he said, were created in a tougher regulatory environment and often limited themselves to “vague governance” roles to avoid legal risk.
With clearer rules emerging, projects are beginning to adjust their economics to more directly benefit holders, functioning more like traditional companies.
Crypto Projects Developing Investor-Friendly Frameworks
Hougan highlighted Uniswap as a key example, stating that a key proposal talks about turning on a protocol fee mechanism (called UNIfication) that burns a portion of UNI, the network’s native token, and building a new system to provide higher liquidity returns.
If approved, Hougan said the changes could eventually push UNI into the top 10 crypto assets by market cap because trading activity would more directly support the token.
For XRP, he noted that the community is focusing more on growing value for the crypto asset.
Across major networks, Hougan argued, the common trend is a growing focus on designing tokens that systematically capture more of the value generated on their platforms. An example of this would be Ripple Labs’ recent proposal to add staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a move that could push the XRP token deeper into DeFi.
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