Crypto discussions often default to token price, market cap, and short-term performance. But if tokens are taken out of the equation entirely, what actually remains valuable?
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Ryan Chow, CEO and co-founder of Solv Protocol, said that if tokens stopped mattering tomorrow, priorities would snap back to fundamentals. He also shared 3 crypto protocols he believes would still clearly matter in 2026, even if tokens no longer existed.
Are Token Prices a Reliable Measure of Value in Crypto?
Crypto is often defined by its tokens and volatile price swings. Much of the industry conversation revolves around price speculation.
What top coins will do next, when altcoin season might begin, or which token could be the next 100x winner? These narratives dominate headlines, social media, and market sentiment.
SponsoredWhile prices dominate mindshare, what do they actually say about whether a project is actually working, being used, or delivering real value?
Chow mentioned that price can be informative when it’s backed by sustained usage and revenue. However, most of the time, he described it as a “lagging, noisy proxy.”
The real test, he said, is when it’s backed by sustained usage and revenue, and becomes infrastructure that people build on, and institutions can trust, regardless of market charts.
“Token price tells you what the market feels, not whether the system works,” he stated.
According to Chow, price movements often run ahead of fundamentals or diverge from them entirely. Tokens can rally on expectations alone, while protocols that are steadily gaining adoption may see little immediate price reaction.
He added that a project’s real progress is better measured by the strength of its infrastructure, the security of its operations, and its ability to earn trust from institutional participants. Chow explained that if tokens are removed:
“Value then comes down to adoption, usability and security. Metrics like onchain adoption, integration with other protocols, compliance readiness and the ability to scale reliably for institutions are far stronger signals of impact than market cap alone.”
What User and Developer Behavior Looks Like Without Crypto Tokens
But if tokens, and with them trading, were to disappear, would users leave as well? Chow suggested that without the ability to profit from holding or trading tokens, most speculative activity would vanish almost immediately.
This includes momentum trading, airdrop, points farming, mercenary liquidity, and governance.
Sponsored Sponsored“What would remain is purely instrumental use: stablecoins for payments and treasury, onchain credit for capital efficiency, and institutions using verifiable rails for issuance and collateral. I am seeing genuine demand in crypto for capabilities, settlement, custody, verification, distribution, and risk-managed yield, not for tokens. This tells us that real utility is what sustains a project beyond price incentives,” he told BeInCrypto.
The executive also stressed that such a theoretical scenario would fundamentally shift developer priorities. According to Chow, token performance has pushed builders to focus on short-term gains rather than long-term infrastructure.
The current structure rewards what is easiest to market, such as new narratives, incentives, points programs, and short-term total value locked (TVL), rather than what is hardest to build: security, risk controls, reliability, and clear unit economics.
“If tokens stopped mattering tomorrow, priorities would snap back to fundamentals. Builders would focus on systems that earn trust, such as verifiable reserves and accounting, execution and management, auditability, uptime, governance, and compliance-ready workflows. You’d see more work on distribution rails across wallets, exchange integrations, settlements, identity, and business models that work on fees,” he remarked.
Lending, Settlement, and Custody as Core Crypto Use Cases
Chow also argued that crypto would continue to exist even in the absence of tokens.
“In a token-agnostic world, crypto survives as paid infrastructure, with revenue tied to measurable work,” he commented.
He pointed to several business models that are already operating sustainably. These include usage-based fees for settlement, execution, minting, and routing, as well as financial primitives such as lending protocols. According to him,
“One of the most proven sustainable revenue models in DeFi is lending protocols. Well-designed lending protocols generate revenue through interest rate spreads and borrower fees, with income scaling based on utilisation and risk management rather than token emissions.”
Chow noted that even during periods of market volatility, demand for leverage, hedging, and liquidity tends to persist, allowing these systems to continue generating revenue.
SponsoredChow also highlighted infrastructure designed for institutional use as among the most resilient segments of the industry. Services such as custody, compliance, reporting, and payments are typically paid for in fiat or stablecoins and are adopted to reduce operational and regulatory risk. In weaker market conditions, he said, these services often remain the primary bridge between traditional finance and crypto.
“Another sustainable revenue model is to incorporate transactional infrastructure fees. Blockchains and settlement layers that charge for real activity, such as processing transactions or facilitating cross-chain transfers, generate revenue regardless of the market sentiment, making it sustainable even in the face of speculation, hedging, or arbitrage,” he remarked.
Ultimately, Chow argued that any system capable of reliably solving real-world problems and integrating into enterprise workflows can sustain itself, regardless of token performance or market cycles.
Which Crypto Projects Would Still Matter in 2026 Without Tokens?
The question now becomes which crypto protocols would still clearly matter in 2026 if tokens were removed entirely. Chow told BeInCrypto that the answer lies in identifying projects that have built real economic infrastructure that solves actual problems. He pointed to 3 protocols:
1. Chainlink
First, Chow pointed to Chainlink. He detailed that it would remain essential because it provides critical data infrastructure underpinning much of the crypto ecosystem.
DeFi protocols rely on accurate and secure price feeds to function properly. Without reliable oracles, basic activities such as liquidations, derivatives settlement, and asset pricing become unsafe.
He claimed that Chainlink has emerged as the de facto standard for oracle services, processing billions of dollars in transaction value. Chow emphasized that even without the LINK token, protocols would continue paying for these services in stablecoins or Ethereum (ETH).
Sponsored Sponsored“Because the alternative is building inferior oracle systems themselves or facing catastrophic failures from bad data. Institutions and protocols would continue paying for Chainlink’s verifiable, tamper-proof data feeds because the cost of not having them is existential.”
2. Canton Network
Second, Chow highlighted the Canton Network. He argued that its relevance is driven by institutional demand for privacy combined with regulatory compliance.
According to Chow, Canton provides a regulated settlement layer where BTC-backed positions can move without exposing sensitive counterparties or proprietary strategies. The executive revealed that its value is still clear, institutional coordination, and settlement funded by enterprise usage and validator/service fees.
“It would survive because its demand is structural (regulated workflows don’t disappear in bear markets) and its economics are usage-funded (enterprise adoption and validator/service fees), not dependent on speculation,” he suggested.
3. Circle
Third, Chow said Circle would continue to matter in a tokenless crypto space. USDC, he noted, has become foundational infrastructure for crypto payments, treasury management, and cross-border settlement.
For banks and enterprises seeking a reliable and regulated digital dollar, USDC has emerged as a trusted settlement option. Without a native token to manage or distribute, Chow described Circle as essentially a modern financial utility that earns spreads on deposits.
As demand for instant, programmable dollars capable of moving globally around the clock continues to grow, he argued that Circle could potentially thrive in a token-agnostic world by continuing to solve real financial problems.
Overall, Chow’s comments present an alternative framework for assessing value in crypto that places less emphasis on token price and more on usage, infrastructure, and operational reliability.
His views suggest that, in the absence of token-driven incentives, projects with sustained adoption, clear revenue models, and institutional relevance would be better positioned to remain relevant over time.
