Buybacks and burns are the ultimate answer for protocol tokens in this cycle. We’ve seen plenty of real buybacks and real burns, so this post is here to talk about real buybacks with fake burns and fake buybacks with fake burns. A prime example of real buybacks with fake burns is @chainlink: As the leader in the oracle space, Chainlink uses a portion of its protocol revenue to buy back LINK on the secondary market on a weekly basis. However, instead of burning the tokens, they’re deposited into the Chainlink Reserve as strategic reserves. According to the official statement, the funds in the Chainlink Reserve are held long-term as reserves, which temporarily reduces circulating supply but also plants a potential ticking time bomb for the future. As for fake buybacks with fake burns, the crown goes to none other than @arbitrum: The Arbitrum protocol has accumulated $7.73M in revenue, with Robinhood Chain contributing $3.35M to Arbitrum’s treasury in just over two months. The Arbitrum team and its founders have repeatedly boasted about the revenue share from RH Chain, saying, “Look how full our treasury is, we’re strong, you know what’s coming next.” As of now, Arbitrum has used $0 from its treasury to buy back ARB. At least Chainlink made an effort to buy LINK and stash it in their treasury. Arbitrum, on the other hand, hasn’t even dared to buy back ARB, which shows just how little confidence they have in their own token.