Delphi Digital: Since 2025, the median of newly listed tokens has dropped by 82%, with token unlocking and income distribution mechanisms being the main drag
Delphi Digital pointed out in its latest report that since January 2025, if one had bought every mainstream CEX newly listed token, the $1,000 investment has shrunk to about $500, with a median drop of 82%, and only 12% of tokens are above their listing price.
The main factors dragging down this cycle include: internal allocations unlocking on a fixed schedule rather than performance (with each unlock on average leading to a relative BTC excess return loss of about 7%), difficulty in protocol revenue flowing to holders, and airdrops becoming a means of exiting liquidity.
Currently, major DeFi protocols are turning on the "rate switch," such as Hyperliquid, Uniswap, Jupiter, Aave, etc., by using buybacks, burns, and other methods to return income to holders. The related yield-weighted basket has significantly outperformed BTC, ETH, and SOL this year.
Delphi Digital believes that tokens worth holding in the future must have both income returning to holders and a supply mechanism linked to performance, which may be the strongest long-term allocation foundation for this asset class in history.






