Deep Dive
1. Buyback Program & Utility Expansion (Bullish Impact)
Overview: Saros allocated 20% of protocol revenue to quarterly buybacks after purchasing 100M SAROS ($38M) by August 2025. Annual transparency reports will track progress. The token’s role is expanding into staking, governance, and ecosystem incentives.
What this means: Reduced circulating supply could counter inflation from future unlocks, while utility expansion may increase organic demand. Protocol revenue sustainability is critical – failure to grow could weaken buyback impact.
2. Perpetuals DEX Growth (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Saros Perps launched in August 2025 with 100+ trading pairs and 50x leverage. Integrations with Titan Exchange and DEXTools improved liquidity access. However, Solana’s crowded DeFi space requires continuous innovation to retain market share.
What this means: Higher trading volume directly boosts protocol revenue (fueling buybacks), but competition from established perpetuals platforms like Drift poses adoption risks. The 40% referral fee model (Saros) could drive user acquisition if marketed effectively.
3. Token Unlock Overhang (Bearish Risk)
Overview: A $47.6M token unlock occurred in July 2025 without significant price decline, suggesting strong demand. However, 2.6B SAROS (99% of supply) remains locked, with vesting schedules extending into 2026.
What this means: Future unlocks could dilute prices if buybacks/revenue don’t scale proportionally. The fully diluted valuation of $3.59B (vs. $842M market cap) signals long-term inflation risk.
Conclusion
Saros’ price trajectory hinges on balancing buyback efficacy against token supply inflation, while Perpetuals DEX must capture meaningful market share in Solana’s derivatives race. Technicals show bearish momentum (price below 7/30-day EMAs), but RSI 35 suggests potential reversal if $0.265 Fibonacci support holds.
Watch: Can protocol revenue sustain buybacks amid broader market stagnation?