Tokenless Protocols Generated About 25% of Onchain Fees in First Half of 2026

Protocols without a native token accounted for about 25% of onchain fees in the first half of 2026, as Fragment generated an estimated $180 million in user-paid fees. The figures show that tokenless protocols produced a substantial share of fees, but do not establish an industrywide shift away from tokens.

Axiom generated an estimated $125 million in user-paid onchain fees during the same six-month period. These figures measure fees paid by users, not profit after expenses, and do not show how much either business retained.

As of Q3 2026, based on data through that quarter, Fragment had $378 million in trailing 12-month fees and Hyperliquid had $939 million. Those totals cover a 12-month period ending with the data cutoff through Q3, rather than fees collected during Q3 alone.

Fragment is a marketplace for Telegram collectible usernames and collectible phone numbers used to register Telegram accounts. Ownership of collectible usernames is secured on TON.

Hyperliquid developed without venture capital or other external funding, but launched the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token on Nov. 29, 2024. Fees support open-market purchases of HYPE through the Assistance Fund rather than cash payments to token holders. Hyperliquid therefore combines self-funded development with a token and a fee-funded buyback mechanism.

A separate annualized fee measure exceeds $1 billion and goes toward programmatic HYPE buybacks. Its observation window is unspecified, so the figure cannot be directly compared with Hyperliquid’s $939 million in trailing 12-month fees.

Blockchain-related revenue for 2026 was estimated at about $100 billion, down 28% from a year earlier. The estimate annualizes data from the first three quarters and includes offchain fees, public-company earnings, reserve income, mining and staking rewards, as well as onchain fees. Its broader scope means it is not a measure of onchain protocol fees.

The fee estimates do not assess costs or profitability. They show the scale of fee activity across different token models, but do not establish whether that activity translates into profit.