The Ouroboros Economy: Measuring How Long Self-Referential Token Demand Actually Holds
Circular token economics—where newly minted tokens fund the rewards that incentivize holding more tokens—are among the most common and least scrutinized structures in the cryptocurrency market. These feedback loops can sustain the appearance of organic demand for months or even years before the underlying mechanics force a correction. This analysis examines the quantitative signatures of self-referential token economies and provides a practical framework for estimating how long any given loop ca