Unchained
Unchained
Laura Shin
Does High REV Signal a Blockchain's Strength or Its User Exploitation? - Ep. 841
1 hour 22 minutes Posted May 27, 2025 at 4:00 pm.
Intro
What REV actually measures and why it’s sparking so much debate
Why fees that don’t go to the protocol are included in this metric
Whether L2 tokens are fundamentally worthless
How to factor Ethereum L2s into the REV equation
Why Tom thinks all fees are going to zero and what that means for value accrual
Austin defends REV and explains why it reflects real user demand
MEV debate: is it a feature or a flaw?
Why Solana might not follow Ethereum’s REV path
Who secures the network when MEV goes to zero
Whether high REV means success
Why Austin calls out Jesse Pollak’s “no sandwiching” claim on Base
Whether Solana’s Alpenglow proposal could reshape MEV
How REV might rise even as MEV declines
Why Bitcoin lives in its own reality when it comes to metrics
How protocols can game the REV metric
What other metrics matter when valuing blockchains
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Show notes
A debate has been heating up on crypto Twitter about Real Economic Value (REV) — a metric meant to measure the value blockchains accrue from user activity. REV includes transaction fees and MEV tips, but excludes issuance — the inflationary rewards paid to validators. Some say it’s the clearest window into genuine usage. Others argue it’s a flawed and misleading proxy.
So we brought the argument to Unchained. Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture at Varys Capital, says fees are headed to zero, and blockchains shouldn’t be valued like companies. Meanwhile, Austin Federa, Co-founder of DoubleZero, believes REV offers a real lens on activity, maturity, and demand.
The conversation covers:
Whether REV is a meaningful metric (and how to game it)
Whether L2 tokens are fundamentally broken
What happens to security when fees (and MEV) go to zero
If high REV signals product-market fit or just economic noise
How to value blockchains, if not with REV
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
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Guests:
Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture at Varys Capital
Austin Federa, Co-founder of DoubleZero
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