What Still Matters in Crypto Without Tokens? Solv CEO Names 3 Key Protocols
Crypto discussions usually default to token worth, market cap, and short-term efficiency. But if tokens are taken out of the equation fully, what really stays precious?
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Ryan Chow, CEO and co-founder of Solv Protocol, stated that if tokens stopped mattering tomorrow, priorities would snap again to fundamentals. He additionally shared 3 crypto protocols he believes would nonetheless clearly matter in 2026, even when tokens not existed.
Are Token Prices a Reliable Measure of Value in Crypto?
Crypto is commonly outlined by its tokens and unstable worth swings. Much of the business dialog revolves round worth hypothesis.
What prime cash will do next, when altcoin season might begin, or which token may very well be the subsequent 100x winner? These narratives dominate headlines, social media, and market sentiment.
While costs dominate mindshare, what do they really say about whether or not a mission is definitely working, being used, or delivering actual worth?
Chow talked about that worth could be informative when it’s backed by sustained utilization and income. However, more often than not, he described it as a “lagging, noisy proxy.”
The actual take a look at, he stated, is when it’s backed by sustained usage and revenue, and turns into infrastructure that individuals construct on, and establishments can belief, no matter market charts.
“Token worth tells you what the market feels, not whether or not the system works,” he acknowledged.
According to Chow, worth actions usually run forward of fundamentals or diverge from them fully. Tokens can rally on expectations alone, whereas protocols which might be steadily gaining adoption may even see little rapid worth response.
He added {that a} mission’s actual progress is best measured by the power of its infrastructure, the safety of its operations, and its skill to earn belief from institutional members. Chow defined that if tokens are eliminated:
“Value then comes right down to adoption, usability and safety. Metrics like onchain adoption, integration with different protocols, compliance readiness and the flexibility to scale reliably for establishments are far stronger alerts of influence than market cap alone.”
What User and Developer Behavior Looks Like Without Crypto Tokens
But if tokens, and with them buying and selling, have been to vanish, would customers depart as effectively? Chow prompt that with out the flexibility to revenue from holding or buying and selling tokens, most speculative exercise would vanish virtually instantly.
This consists of momentum buying and selling, airdrop, points farming, mercenary liquidity, and governance.
“What would stay is solely instrumental use: stablecoins for funds and treasury, onchain credit score for capital effectivity, and establishments utilizing verifiable rails for issuance and collateral. I’m seeing real demand in crypto for capabilities, settlement, custody, verification, distribution, and risk-managed yield, not for tokens. This tells us that actual utility is what sustains a mission past worth incentives,” he informed BeInCrypto.
The govt additionally burdened that such a theoretical state of affairs would essentially shift developer priorities. According to Chow, token performance has pushed builders to concentrate on short-term features slightly than long-term infrastructure.
The present construction rewards what’s best to market, such as new narratives, incentives, factors applications, and short-term whole worth locked (TVL), slightly than what’s hardest to construct: safety, threat controls, reliability, and clear unit economics.
“If tokens stopped mattering tomorrow, priorities would snap again to fundamentals. Builders would concentrate on methods that earn belief, equivalent to verifiable reserves and accounting, execution and administration, auditability, uptime, governance, and compliance-ready workflows. You’d see extra work on distribution rails throughout wallets, trade integrations, settlements, id, and enterprise fashions that work on charges,” he remarked.
Lending, Settlement, and Custody as Core Crypto Use Cases
Chow additionally argued that crypto would live on even in the absence of tokens.
“In a token-agnostic world, crypto survives as paid infrastructure, with income tied to measurable work,” he commented.
He pointed to a number of enterprise fashions which might be already working sustainably. These embrace usage-based charges for settlement, execution, minting, and routing, in addition to monetary primitives such as lending protocols. According to him,
“One of probably the most confirmed sustainable income fashions in DeFi is lending protocols. Well-designed lending protocols generate income by means of rate of interest spreads and borrower charges, with earnings scaling primarily based on utilisation and threat administration slightly than token emissions.”
Chow famous that even during times of market volatility, demand for leverage, hedging, and liquidity tends to persist, permitting these methods to proceed producing income.
Chow additionally highlighted infrastructure designed for institutional use as among the many most resilient segments of the business. Services equivalent to custody, compliance, reporting, and funds are sometimes paid for in fiat or stablecoins and are adopted to cut back operational and regulatory threat. In weaker market circumstances, he stated, these companies usually stay the first bridge between conventional finance and crypto.
“Another sustainable income mannequin is to include transactional infrastructure charges. Blockchains and settlement layers that cost for actual exercise, equivalent to processing transactions or facilitating cross-chain transfers, generate income whatever the market sentiment, making it sustainable even in the face of hypothesis, hedging, or arbitrage,” he remarked.
Ultimately, Chow argued that any system able to reliably (*3*) and integrating into enterprise workflows can maintain itself, no matter token efficiency or market cycles.
Which Crypto Projects Would Still Matter in 2026 Without Tokens?
The query now turns into which crypto protocols would nonetheless clearly matter in 2026 if tokens have been eliminated fully. Chow informed BeInCrypto that the reply lies in figuring out tasks which have constructed actual financial infrastructure that solves precise issues. He pointed to 3 protocols:
1. Chainlink
First, Chow pointed to Chainlink. He detailed that it could remain essential because it offers important information infrastructure underpinning a lot of the crypto ecosystem.
DeFi protocols depend on correct and safe worth feeds to perform correctly. Without dependable oracles, primary actions equivalent to liquidations, derivatives settlement, and asset pricing change into unsafe.
He claimed that Chainlink has emerged because the de facto commonplace for oracle companies, processing billions of {dollars} in transaction worth. Chow emphasised that even with out the LINK token, protocols would proceed paying for these companies in stablecoins or Ethereum (ETH).
“Because the choice is constructing inferior oracle methods themselves or dealing with catastrophic failures from dangerous information. Institutions and protocols would proceed paying for Chainlink’s verifiable, tamper-proof information feeds as a result of the price of not having them is existential.”
2. Canton Network
Second, Chow highlighted the Canton Network. He argued that its relevance is pushed by institutional demand for privateness mixed with regulatory compliance.
According to Chow, Canton offers a regulated settlement layer the place BTC-backed positions can transfer with out exposing delicate counterparties or proprietary methods. The govt revealed that its worth remains to be clear, institutional coordination, and settlement funded by enterprise utilization and validator/service charges.
“It would survive as a result of its demand is structural (regulated workflows don’t disappear in bear markets) and its economics are usage-funded (enterprise adoption and validator/service charges), not depending on hypothesis,” he prompt.
3. Circle
Third, Chow stated Circle would continue to matter in a tokenless crypto house. USDC, he famous, has change into foundational infrastructure for crypto funds, treasury administration, and cross-border settlement.
For banks and enterprises looking for a dependable and controlled digital greenback, USDC has emerged as a trusted settlement possibility. Without a local token to handle or distribute, Chow described Circle as basically a contemporary monetary utility that earns spreads on deposits.
As demand for fast, programmable {dollars} able to transferring globally across the clock continues to develop, he argued that Circle might doubtlessly thrive in a token-agnostic world by persevering with to unravel actual monetary issues.
Overall, Chow’s feedback current an alternate framework for assessing worth in crypto that locations much less emphasis on token worth and extra on utilization, infrastructure, and operational reliability.
His views counsel that, in the absence of token-driven incentives, tasks with sustained adoption, clear income fashions, and institutional relevance could be higher positioned to stay related over time.
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