Crypto discussions usually default to token worth, market cap, and short-term efficiency. But when tokens are taken out of the equation solely, what truly stays priceless?
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Ryan Chow, CEO and co-founder of Solv Protocol, mentioned 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 now not existed.
Are Token Costs a Dependable Measure of Worth in Crypto?
Crypto is usually outlined by its tokens and risky worth swings. A lot of the trade dialog revolves round worth hypothesis.
What high cash will do subsequent, when altcoin season may start, or which token may very well be the following 100x winner? These narratives dominate headlines, social media, and market sentiment.
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Whereas costs dominate mindshare, what do they really say about whether or not a mission is definitely working, getting used, or delivering actual worth?
Chow talked about that worth could be informative when it’s backed by sustained utilization and income. Nevertheless, more often than not, he described it as a “lagging, noisy proxy.”
The true take a look at, he mentioned, is when it’s backed by sustained utilization and income, 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 said.
In line with Chow, worth actions usually run forward of fundamentals or diverge from them solely. Tokens can rally on expectations alone, whereas protocols which are 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 capacity to earn belief from institutional members. Chow defined that if tokens are eliminated:
“Worth then comes all the way down to adoption, usability and safety. Metrics like onchain adoption, integration with different protocols, compliance readiness and the power to scale reliably for establishments are far stronger alerts of impression than market cap alone.”
What Consumer and Developer Conduct Seems to be Like With out Crypto Tokens
But when tokens, and with them buying and selling, had been to vanish, would customers depart as properly? Chow urged that with out the power to revenue from holding or buying and selling tokens, most speculative exercise would vanish nearly instantly.
This consists of momentum buying and selling, airdrop, factors 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.
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The chief additionally confused that such a theoretical situation would basically shift developer priorities. In line with Chow, token efficiency has pushed builders to concentrate on short-term beneficial properties fairly than long-term infrastructure.
The present construction rewards what’s best to market, equivalent to new narratives, incentives, factors applications, and short-term whole worth locked (TVL), fairly than what’s hardest to construct: safety, danger controls, reliability, and clear unit economics.
“If tokens stopped mattering tomorrow, priorities would snap again to fundamentals. Builders would concentrate on techniques 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 Instances
Chow additionally argued that crypto would live on even within 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 are already working sustainably. These embrace usage-based charges for settlement, execution, minting, and routing, in addition to monetary primitives equivalent to lending protocols. In line with him,
“One of the confirmed sustainable income fashions in DeFi is lending protocols. Effectively-designed lending protocols generate income by rate of interest spreads and borrower charges, with earnings scaling primarily based on utilisation and danger administration fairly than token emissions.”
Chow famous that even during times of market volatility, demand for leverage, hedging, and liquidity tends to persist, permitting these techniques to proceed producing income.
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Chow additionally highlighted infrastructure designed for institutional use as among the many most resilient segments of the trade. Companies equivalent to custody, compliance, reporting, and funds are sometimes paid for in fiat or stablecoins and are adopted to scale back operational and regulatory danger. In weaker market situations, he mentioned, these companies usually stay the first bridge between conventional finance and crypto.
“One other 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 within the face of hypothesis, hedging, or arbitrage,” he remarked.
Finally, Chow argued that any system able to reliably fixing real-world issues and integrating into enterprise workflows can maintain itself, no matter token efficiency or market cycles.
Which Crypto Tasks Would Nonetheless Matter in 2026 With out Tokens?
The query now turns into which crypto protocols would nonetheless clearly matter in 2026 if tokens had been eliminated solely. Chow informed BeInCrypto that the reply lies in figuring out initiatives which have constructed actual financial infrastructure that solves precise issues. He pointed to three protocols:
1. Chainlink
First, Chow pointed to Chainlink. He detailed that it could stay important as a result of it gives essential knowledge infrastructure underpinning a lot of the crypto ecosystem.
DeFi protocols depend on correct and safe worth feeds to perform correctly. With out dependable oracles, fundamental actions equivalent to liquidations, derivatives settlement, and asset pricing change into unsafe.
He claimed that Chainlink has emerged because the de facto customary 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).
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“As a result of the choice is constructing inferior oracle techniques themselves or going through catastrophic failures from dangerous knowledge. Establishments and protocols would proceed paying for Chainlink’s verifiable, tamper-proof knowledge feeds as a result of the price of not having them is existential.”
2. Canton Community
Second, Chow highlighted the Canton Community. He argued that its relevance is pushed by institutional demand for privateness mixed with regulatory compliance.
In line with Chow, Canton gives a regulated settlement layer the place BTC-backed positions can transfer with out exposing delicate counterparties or proprietary methods. The chief revealed that its worth remains to be clear, institutional coordination, and settlement funded by enterprise utilization and validator/service charges.
“It will 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 urged.
3. Circle
Third, Chow mentioned Circle would proceed to matter in a tokenless crypto area. USDC, he famous, has change into foundational infrastructure for crypto funds, treasury administration, and cross-border settlement.
For banks and enterprises searching for a dependable and controlled digital greenback, USDC has emerged as a trusted settlement possibility. With no native token to handle or distribute, Chow described Circle as basically a contemporary monetary utility that earns spreads on deposits.
As demand for immediate, 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 resolve actual monetary issues.
Total, 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 recommend that, within the absence of token-driven incentives, initiatives with sustained adoption, clear income fashions, and institutional relevance could be higher positioned to stay related over time.