The competition for crypto treasuries is accelerating. In addition to the much-discussed corporate financing, blockchain protocols are also exploring new ways to lock value within their ecosystems, and in some cases, even redefining the function of treasuries.
On August 7, Chainlink announced the establishment of a dedicated reserve treasury to accumulate Chainlink (LINK) tokens collected from on-chain service fees and off-chain corporate revenues, thereby directly linking business activities with long-term token demand.
Since then, the protocol has made two deposits into its newly launched on-chain treasury.
Chainlink's new initiative is part of a larger trend in the crypto space, which is to use treasuries as a positive driving force for token demand, rather than just as reserves.
Transforming the treasury into a perpetual demand engine
Chainlink's reserves are funded by revenue from corporate clients in banking and capital markets. These payments, whether in stablecoins, gas tokens, or fiat currency, are automatically converted into LINK through a conversion system and then deposited into the reserves.
On the other hand, Cardano is also exploring alternative crypto treasury options. On June 15, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson proposed converting 5% to 10% of Cardano's $120 million ADA treasury into Bitcoin and stablecoins during a live stream, and using the proceeds to buy back its tokens from the open market. Cardano's plan is to achieve this by reconfiguring existing assets, which may bring short-term downward pressure but could yield greater long-term benefits if the strategy is effective.
Analyst Danny Ryan stated that for these buyback plans to gain widespread recognition in the market, they need to provide long-term dividends to token holders.
Notably, WLFI is a financial strategy under the Trump family, unlike Chainlink's gradually growing on-chain reserves or Cardano's proposed income buyback scheme; the WLFI treasury is fully operational immediately.
A report from The New Yorker estimates that since 2022, Trump has earned approximately $2.4 billion from his cryptocurrency business, a figure that has sparked controversy among many Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. regarding potential conflicts of interest.
