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Crypto has historically lacked standardized definitions for the fundamental measures investors take for granted in equities. Different data providers report materially different revenue and supply figures for the same token, which distorts market caps and valuation multiples. Artemis, together with Pantera Capital, has published standardized frameworks for both. These are the definitions used in the datasets behind the index.

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Protocol Revenue

Revenue is the value that accrues to tokenholders from a protocol’s core operations, on a recurring basis. This includes fees accrued to a protocol treasury, token burns, buybacks (including buyback-and-burn programs), and direct fee distributions to tokenholders. Revenue is deliberately distinct from fees:
  • Fees: the total amount users pay to use a protocol (the “gross merchandise value” of the platform)
  • Revenue: the portion of that value captured by the protocol and its tokenholders
Most protocols operate as multi-sided marketplaces, connecting supply and demand for a service and taking a cut, the same way Uber connects drivers and riders. Measuring the cut that actually accrues to tokenholders, rather than the gross flow through the platform, makes protocols comparable to each other and to traditional businesses.

Research: Crypto Revenue

The full framework: why crypto needs a standard revenue definition, the fees-vs-revenue distinction, and how value accrual mechanisms map to revenue.

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Supply metrics

Token supply follows a waterfall, with each measure removing tokens that do not carry market weight: Outstanding Supply is crypto’s analogue of outstanding shares in equities: just as treasury shares are excluded from a company’s share count, tokens held by a protocol’s own foundation, labs entity, or DAO treasury are excluded because they are not in investors’ hands. Defined as Total Supply − Total Protocol Holdings, it gives investors an apples-to-apples basis for comparing token valuations to each other and to stocks.

Research: Shares vs. Tokens: Why We Need 'Outstanding Supply'

The full framework, co-authored with Pantera Capital: why existing supply metrics are inconsistent, the outstanding-shares parallel, and a smarter circulating supply.

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Measurement

Metrics are computed daily. Our preferred source is on-chain data indexed directly from public blockchain ledgers, which we use wherever it is available. For some assets and metrics we source from third-party data providers or official protocol APIs instead, typically where a ledger is not directly accessible to us or where an established provider is the best available source. Revenue is reported in USD; supply metrics are reported in native token units.