Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said buyback programs are the most effective tokenomics strategy for generating investor returns, while inflation reduction measures have historically delivered negative performance outcomes. "Buybacks make clear that there's an alignment between the project and token holders," Hougan stated, noting that investors have consistently rewarded projects implementing buyback mechanisms. He emphasized that once alignment is established, market participants assume tokenomics will continue to evolve and improve over time. However, Hougan cautioned against relying on inflation cuts as a value driver. "The data on that is actually pretty clear that historically, inflation cuts are negative from a performance perspective," he said, adding that strong assets typically don't need to reduce inflation to benefit stakeholders. While acknowledging some ecosystems could trim inflation, Hougan concluded that from an alpha-generating standpoint, buybacks and burns carry positive price attribution, whereas inflation adjustments have not.