Chain Street (Part 5) - Token Rights

Part 5, the final instalment of the Chain Street series, answers the question every Chain Street investor should be asking, what am I actually buying? Using the Three Sigma classification framework, every token gets run through four layers, transactional or non-transactional, what value flows exist, how holders access them, and how the money actually reaches them. Most Chain Street protocol tokens are non-transactional pseudo-equity, meaning value accrual must be explicitly designed into the token via code-enforced dividends, buybacks, or burns. Chain Street protocols themselves are double-sided marketplaces, capital aggregators that function like vending machines, with value flowing from gross merchandise value to fees, supply side fees, protocol revenue, and finally holder revenue. Three metrics matter most. Protocol take rate (the share of fees the protocol captures) varies wildly, from Aave at 13.5% and Compound at 3% to Aerodrome and Hyperliquid capturing the majority. Holder take rate (the share of protocol revenue passed to tokenholders) separates well-designed tokens like Aave, Aerodrome, and Hyperliquid from poorly designed ones like Compound, where zero protocol revenue reaches holders. Outstanding FDV to Holder Revenue (P/HR) is crypto’s closest equivalent to a P/E ratio and routinely shows that headline P/F multiples understate true valuation by hundreds of percent. Future dilution adds context but doesn’t disqualify a token if growth justifies the emissions. The conclusion fades the commoditisation thesis. Chain Street is a winner-takes-most game, and the cash machines, protocols with defendable network effects and code-enforced holder rights, are where the value will accrue. A free screener at chainstreet.netlify.app puts the framework in readers’ hands.