Arthur Hayes: Most Token Declines Are Due to Projects Pocketing Protocol Revenue On May 23, 2026, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes @CryptoHayes shared on the What Bitcoin Did podcast that most crypto projects fail to return the economic value generated at the protocol layer to token holders. He believes that early-stage VCs inevitably sell into the market to maximize profits and fulfill fiduciary duties, which leads to the continuous decline in token prices. Using Hyperliquid's revenue buyback mechanism as an example, he pointed out that today's crypto investors have matured—they no longer buy into mere whitepapers or flashy early-stage investment teams but instead focus more on the actual cash flow that token holders can receive. Source: What Bitcoin Did