A significant governance decision has been made within the Optimism (OP) ecosystem. Optimism management has approved a token buyback plan that more directly links the OP token to Superchain revenues.
This move represents a significant shift in Optimism’s approach to token value and revenue generation, as it is one of Ethereum’s largest layer-2 networks.
According to on-chain governance data, the proposal was approved with 84.4% support after days of discussions among delegates and token holders. The OP token price, however, has seen a limited decline in the last 24 hours.
According to the approved plan, the Optimism Foundation will allocate 50% of net Superchain sequencer revenue for regular OP token buybacks during a 12-month pilot period beginning in February. The remaining revenue will continue to be used for ecosystem funding, grants, and operational expenses.
This move marks Optimism’s first official attempt to directly link demand for its OP token to Superchain network activity. Superchain is a growing network comprised of OP Mainnet, Base, Unichain, World Chain, Soneium, Ink, and others, all based on the OP Stack.
The OP token, which has primarily been used as a governance tool until now, is gaining a different economic dynamic with this new mechanism. As usage and transaction volume on the Superchain increase, the resources allocated for purchasing OP tokens from the open market will also increase.
According to data shared by the Optimism Foundation, Superchain sequencers generated approximately 5,900 ETH in revenue over the past year. It is stated that this figure could increase further with the deployment of new chains and rising transaction volumes.
The OP tokens acquired under the buyback program are planned to be held in the Optimism Collective treasury. The proposal does not mandate the burning or withdrawal of the tokens from circulation. Whether these tokens will be used for different purposes in the future, such as staking, incentive mechanisms, or burning, will be left to future governance decisions.
*This is not investment advice.
