In classical monetary economics, the Equation of Exchange ($M \cdot V = P \cdot Q$) dictates the relationship between money supply and economic activity. If a crypto asset (like XRP, SOL, or XLM) is used purely as an intermediary bridge for international settlement, payment corridors buy the token, transmit it within seconds or minutes, and immediately sell it for the target fiat currency.

Because the holding period is minimal, token velocity ($V$) approaches hundreds or thousands of turnovers per year. Under such conditions, a multi-trillion-dollar annual remittance market can be cleared with a relatively modest float of liquidity. As trader Peter Brandt noted to Ciaran Lyons, utility eventually forces the market to discover its rational replacement cost, revealing whether current market speculative prices are overpriced relative to network velocity.

Token value rises when velocity is structurally constrained. This occurs through:
1. Staking & Collateral Lockup: Removing tokens from circulation to back smart contracts, bridges, or consensus.
2. Treasury & Speculative HODLing: Participants holding tokens long-term rather than cycling them instantly.
3. Deflationary Burn Mechanics: Burning base-layer fees (e.g. EIP-1559) so that transaction throughput directly reduces available float.