Well, if this is partially effect of devs burning tokens, it may be a better choice than dividends after all.
It's no doubt a better choice, since the dividend payouts were exactly one of the main reasons ICN was unlikely to get listed on another major exchange. Polo for example wouldn't want the trouble of having to distribute dividends among ICN holders in their exchange. Now with the buybacks the chance to get listed on such exchanges is real, though arguably that's not all that necessary considering all the acheivements of the team and the building of a strong community in the recent months. One more big exchange would never hurt, but ICN could probably go to $10 from Kraken alone.