Ansem Says the Real Gap Between HYPE and PUMP Isn’t Revenue — It’s Trust

Highlights:

• Ansem says token buybacks alone cannot explain the huge valuation gap between HYPE and PUMP.
• He argues Hyperliquid’s strong community trust helps HYPE command a far higher valuation than PUMP.
• Ansem believes Pump.fun could gain significantly by improving communication, addressing user concerns, and delivering its promised airdrop.

Crypto trader Ansem has questioned whether token buybacks can significantly increase a token’s value on their own. In a July 16 post on X, he compared Hyperliquid and Pump.fun, two profitable crypto platforms that regularly use part of their earnings to buy back their native tokens.

Ansem said Hyperliquid generates about $800 million in annualized revenue, while Pump.fun generates around $440 million. However, HYPE holds a fully diluted valuation of about $65 billion, while PUMP stands near $1.4 billion, based on the figures he shared. A fully diluted valuation, or FDV, estimates a crypto project’s total market value if all its tokens were already in circulation.

The large difference led Ansem to argue that revenue and buybacks do not fully determine token valuations. Instead, he believes investors also consider how much they trust a project’s team and its decisions. “I have a thesis that buybacks don’t actually work,” Ansem wrote. However, his wider argument focused less on buybacks themselves and more on the trust behind each project.

i have a thesis that buybacks don't actually work

hyperliquid makes $800M annualized revenue
pump fun makes $440M annualized revenue$HYPE trades at $65B FDV while $PUMP trades at $1.4B FDV

both teams do regularly recurring buybacks with portions of their profits from the…

— Ansem 🐂🀄️ (@blknoiz06) July 16, 2026

Hyperliquid Built Strong Trust with Its Users

Ansem said Hyperliquid has earned a strong “trust premium” from its community. He credited the team for focusing on product development, avoiding unrealistic promises and rewarding users through clear and previously defined measures.

He also said Hyperliquid’s core users have strong confidence in founder Jeff Yan and the wider team. According to Ansem, that trust helps HYPE trade at a much higher valuation compared with the revenue the platform generates. Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures business may also produce more stable revenue. Still, Ansem believes community trust and the team’s record of execution play a major role in HYPE’s market performance.

Crypto projects often use buybacks to create additional demand for their tokens. A project buys tokens from the market with part of its revenue and may later remove them from circulation. However, buybacks may have limited impact when users do not trust the team or feel disconnected from the platform.

Pump.fun Struggles with Community Trust

Ansem described Pump.fun as one of the most successful businesses in crypto. He said the platform generated $1 billion in revenue and raised another $1 billion through its token sale. Despite that success, PUMP trades at a much lower valuation than HYPE. Ansem linked the gap to Pump.fun’s relationship with its core users. He pointed to an expected user airdrop that the platform has not delivered.

He said Pump.fun has recently improved its communication and started engaging more closely with users. However, he believes the team must address community concerns and deliver the expected airdrop to rebuild trust.

Ansem estimated that PUMP could trade 10 to 15 times higher if Pump.fun improved its relationship with users. He also said stronger community support could increase attention, trading activity, and platform revenue. However, the estimate reflects his personal opinion and does not guarantee future price growth.

Bitcoin Shows the Value of Long-Term Trust

Ansem also used Bitcoin as an example of how trust can influence market value. Bitcoin generates no business revenue, yet it holds a market capitalization of about $1.3 trillion, based on the figures in his post.

Investors trust Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins and expect the network to continue operating under the same core rules. Ansem argued that markets value more than revenue alone. Trust, attention, culture and community confidence can also shape how investors price an asset.