REXw33kly - 2026-04-29 | Summary
Main point of the episode
The speaker says that Etherex is moving into ecosystem survival protection mode. The main goal is not to maximize current payouts to xREX / REX33 holders, but to preserve REX, liquidity, and the DEX itself until Linea starts fully launching incentives again: Yield Boost, stablecoin plans, and other ecosystem support mechanisms.
He directly defines the main problem: according to him, Linea is currently in a weak phase - volumes, fees, and activity are falling, interest in the ecosystem is declining, and this puts pressure on the REX price. His fear is that by the time Linea finally “wakes up” and starts launching new programs, REX may have fallen so much, and LP liquidity may have become so thin, that recovery will become much more difficult.
That is why Etherex is introducing a temporary “ecosystem survival / ecosystem-wide 3-3” model: all fees and external incentives that were previously distributed to holders / voters will now be collected centrally and used every week to buy REX / REX33 from the market, convert REX into REX33, and then burn it. Start date - May 8.
What he said about Linea and timing
The speaker emphasizes several times that he does not speak on behalf of Linea. He only speaks on behalf of Etherex. At the same time, according to him, Etherex remains the largest or one of the largest native applications in the Linea ecosystem and an important part of its infrastructure.
Based on his communication with Linea, Linea has several future directions: Yield Boost, stablecoin plans, and broader ways to incentivize the ecosystem. But according to him, none of this is ready right now. He estimates Yield Boost as something that is still “a couple of months away”, roughly mid-to-late June or early July.
He says the preparation process for Yield Boost involves staking, unstaking, and broader technical setup. So Etherex’s current task is not to passively wait for Linea to launch everything, but to survive this gap in such a way that by the time incentives go live, the DEX and REX have not already been destroyed.
Why they see the situation as dangerous
Right now, according to the speaker, the ecosystem is seeing a sharp decline in volumes, fees, and activity. This creates pressure on REX because there are fewer fees, less organic demand, less interest in LPs, and fewer reasons to hold the token.
He describes the key risk like this: if REX depreciates too much and liquidity in the main pools becomes too weak, even future Linea programs may not have a meaningful effect. In other words, the DEX could end up in a state where the “restart” is already economically weak.
He separately highlights the ETH / USDC pair as the most important pair for the network. The logic is simple: for any L2, deep base liquidity in the ETH / USDC pair is critical. New stablecoins may appear later, but right now this pair remains the main infrastructure anchor.
What exactly changes on May 8
Starting May 8, Etherex moves away from the current model where users receive fees / rewards as usual. Instead, all gauged fees and any additional incentives entering the system will be collected centrally and used for buyback & burn.
The mechanics are described as follows:
• Fees and incentives will no longer be distributed directly to xREX / REX33 / voters.
• These funds will be used to buy REX / REX33 on the market.
• If REX is bought, it is then minted / converted into REX33.
• After that, REX33 is burned.
• The goal is to create constant systemic buy pressure on REX and remove part of the supply through burn.
This is not a ban on selling and not a user lockup. The speaker says directly: if someone wants to exit, sell, or do whatever they want with their position, they can still do that. Liquidity, although not huge, is still there. The change concerns only the direction of fees and incentives.
What happens to emissions
REX emissions will continue to decrease until they reach a sustainable level of 100,000 REX per week. He calls this a simple “lowdown number” - a low base emission level.
These emissions will be directed mainly to the pairs that provide the most value to the ecosystem. First of all, this means key pools such as ETH / USDC. He also says he is trying to source additional incentives for important pairs in order to maintain deep liquidity.
The important logic is this: if the fees and incentives collected by the system exceed the value of emissions, then the model becomes “positive” for the token. According to him, in recent weeks the dollar value of emissions has been very low - around $3,500 this week and around $4,200 the previous week. At the same time, total fees incentives were higher. Therefore, he believes the system can be turned toward net buy pressure.
Why the old model became inefficient
The speaker describes the current situation as a prisoner’s dilemma. Users receive rewards, but because REX keeps making new lows, they have an incentive to sell those rewards immediately. As a result, each individual rationally protects themselves, but collectively the system increases pressure on the token.
In his logic, the new model should remove this incentive to immediately sell rewards. Instead of distributing small fees to many users, the system will convert those flows into a shared buyback & burn. He believes this is better for all holders because weekly individual payouts are currently too small to meaningfully change anything for users.
He says directly that even a large holder may be earning, conditionally, $100-200 per week in fees. That is not an amount worth destroying the token’s long-term base for. In his opinion, it is better to direct this money into a shared 3-3 mechanism that supports the REX price and creates a stronger base for future recovery.
This is a temporary measure
The speaker emphasizes that this is not forever. The goal is to keep this model until Linea starts meaningfully incentivizing the ecosystem again. Specifically, he names Yield Boost, stablecoin plans, and the transfer of xREX ownership toward the Linea consortium as conditions after which it would be possible to return to a growth model.
When asked how long the plan can run, he answers that technically it can run indefinitely. If Linea needs six months, then it is better to have buyback pressure during that entire period and not “emit ourselves to death.” But if Linea never starts incentivizing, then Etherex will have to make new decisions.
What happens to LPs and voters
LPs will continue to receive REX. According to the speaker, most LP users will earn REX roughly as they do now, but at the same time, more buyback pressure will be added to REX itself.
For xREX direct voters and auto vault users: the current cycle is still ongoing. He clarifies that users who have already voted will receive their rewards. One more vote before the model launches will also be paid. After May 8, the new system will come into effect, and weekly voting rewards will temporarily stop.
Team and treasury position
The speaker separately says that the treasury is also included in this model. He claims that he personally earns nothing from this scheme and continues working “for his own bags”, like the other holders. According to him, the team is not building an extraction model, is not taking the payout stream for itself, and is refusing salary / compensation in the current phase.
His argument: the team earns when holders earn. Therefore, he presents the buyback & burn decision not as a way for the team to extract value, but as a collective protection mechanism for everyone holding REX / xREX / REX33.
What he said about Linea more harshly
The tone toward Linea is fairly critical. He says he will not defend Linea or pretend that they did an excellent job. According to him, Linea’s recent decisions were poor, everything took too long, and the ecosystem received almost no help. He directly describes the situation as “horrendous.”
At the same time, he is not saying that Etherex is breaking relations with Linea. On the contrary: he believes Linea still will not become an “orphan chain” because it still has ties to Consensys, institutional flow, advisors, and resources. But he also emphasizes that Linea must prove through execution that the new strategy actually works.
He mentions that Linea had serious staffing changes, especially in the go-to-market team. According to him, the old GTM team failed to show real success or competent execution, and now the hope is that the people who came in / remained will bring it into a working state.
Why he thinks this is not a bearish move
The speaker admits that the market can react in any way: someone may decide to sell, while someone else may buy more because they see the protective logic. He says that in a bear market he usually expects people to sell everything, but that does not necessarily have to happen.
His main argument: this is not a bearish step, it is a protective step. In his view, it is less bearish than watching REX make new all-time lows every week. The goal is to create a floor, stabilize the token, stop the downward spiral, and survive until Linea starts bringing liquidity and incentives again.
What he said about other projects in the ecosystem
He mentions that in the absence of volume, not only REX / Etherex suffer, but also other ecosystem tokens, including Foxes and e-frogs / Croak. According to him, some of these projects have good teams and communities, but without network activity and without volume, that is not enough. He uses this as an example that the problem is systemic, not only an Etherex problem.
Final summary
The essence of the episode: Etherex is entering “cockroach mode” - not in the sense of giving up, but in the sense of surviving at any cost until real Linea incentives return. The team believes that distributing small weekly rewards right now is less effective than using all fees and incentives for a shared REX / REX33 buyback & burn.
The model is supposed to:
• Reduce sell pressure from weekly rewards.
• Create regular buy pressure on REX.
• Burn REX33 after buyback / conversion.
• Support key liquidity, especially ETH / USDC.
• Give Etherex a chance to survive until Yield Boost and Linea’s stablecoin plans.
• Preserve the DEX as the “meta DEX” / main native DEX on Linea by the time Linea starts moving again.