Key notes
- The proposal redirects 50% of the Superchain’s revenue, totaling 5,868 ETH per year, to monthly purchases of OP tokens for treasury.
- The superchain processes 13% of all blockchain transactions, but the OP token has historically shown no correlation with network performance.
- Community feedback supports the alignment strategy, although concerns remain over 1.69 billion OP in outstanding token allocations.
The Optimism Foundation has deployed a new governance proposal to enable OP
P.O.
$0.32
24h volatility:
0.1%
Market capitalization:
$617.88 million
Flight. 24h:
$92.84 million
redemptions of 50% of Superchain revenues. This proposal will be voted on on January 22, with the aim of starting buybacks in February, if approved.
According to the official blog post published on January 8 – following the proposal published the day before, on January 7, on the Optimism governance forum – it explains that “Optimism derives revenue from the Superchain”.
Superchain is “an L2 chain network built on the OP stack that includes Base, Unichain, Ink, World Chain, Soneium, OP Mainnet, and more. These chains all contribute a portion of their sequencer revenue to Optimism,” the foundation wrote.
Over the last 12 months, this revenue sharing mechanism amounted to 5,868 ETH.
ETH
$3,128
24h volatility:
0.7%
Market capitalization:
$377.85 billion
Flight. 24h:
$25.09 billion
to a treasury controlled by Optimist governance. Under the proposed plan, 50% of future revenue would fund OP’s monthly purchases starting in February if the vote passes on January 22. The purchased tokens would be directed to the treasury, where governance could later burn them or use them to stake rewards.
The foundation described the change as a shift for OP, the token, from a governance tool to one benefiting from the expansion of the Superchain. Each new chain or transaction increases the revenue base for redemptions, benefiting OP holders and investors.
Notably, the remaining 50% of ETH would remain under foundation management, with more flexibility for yield generation or ecosystem investments, still subject to governance oversight, according to the proposal and blog post.
Community Feedback and Crypto Buybacks
Community comments on X have shown support for the idea of alignment. Mark Boas, CEO of OP Labs, which is called Optimist Prime on X, noted it as a starting point that scales with growth. Boas highlighted the current state of Superchain processing “13% of all blockchain transactions, with 61.4% market share of L2 fees.”
However, he highlighted the fact that the OP token “historically has no connection to the performance of the Superchain,” saying they would like to change that with this new proposal.
Happy New Year everyone! Back in November of last year, I wrote about the changes we were making to refocus the team on the future of crypto.
Today, the @Optimism The Foundation offers a token redemption. The goal is to unify the broader ecosystem outside of just our internal…
– Optimist Prime (@jinglejamOP) January 8, 2026
Cronos Labs CEO Ryan Wyatt commented on the official Optimism Foundation post announcing the proposal. Wyatt called it positive, but suggested addressing the remaining token unlocks and suggested, “as a PO holder” that governance “commit to re-locking or burning some of these allocations”: remaining governance funds (113.46 million PO), remaining user airdrops (546.93 million PO), remaining retro funds (777.59 million PO), and remaining partnership and seed funds (247.33 million PO).
A fantastic step in the right direction to link value to OP via the Superchain. But, at about $15 million in projected 2026 revenue for OP based on 2025 forecasts, 50% of that is $7.5 million in buyouts. You’re talking about only 15-25 million OP if we assume a range of $0.30-0.51c.
Inasmuch as $OP holder, I…
-Ryan Wyatt (@Fwiz) January 8, 2026
The optimism moves match a pattern seen in other protocols adjusting token economics for alignment. In November 2025, the dydx community approved earmarking 75% of protocol fees for DYDX redemptions, as reported by Coinspeaker. This follows other projects like ether.fi with a proposed $50 million ETHFI buyout starting in October 2025.
Interestingly, Optimism is in a prime position thanks to Superchain’s results, as highlighted by Mark Boas, while OP ranks among the worst performing major tokens of 2025, as detailed in Coinspeaker’s year-end review, demonstrating a clear divergence between the network and its underlying asset.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article is intended to provide accurate and current information, but should not be considered financial or investment advice. Because market conditions can change quickly, we encourage you to verify the information for yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Vini Barbosa has been covering the crypto industry professionally since 2020, summarizing over 10,000 hours of researching, writing and editing related content for media outlets and major industry players. Vini is an active commentator and avid user of technology, sincerely believing in its revolutionary potential. Topics of interest include blockchain, open source software, decentralized finance, and real-world utilities.
Vini Barbosa on X
