Optimism Approves Highly Contested OP Buyback Program in Landmark Vote

Optimism's governance token holders have spoken—and the result is a seismic shift in treasury management strategy.

After a fiercely debated proposal, the community has voted to greenlight a major OP token buyback initiative. The move signals a new era of proactive treasury management for one of Ethereum's leading Layer 2 networks.

What the Buyback Actually Means

Think of it as the crypto equivalent of a corporate stock repurchase. The Optimism Collective will deploy a portion of its treasury funds to purchase OP tokens directly from the open market. The goal? To reduce circulating supply and theoretically increase the value of remaining tokens—a classic play straight from the traditional finance handbook, now dressed in decentralized governance.

Why This Vote Was So Heated

Not everyone was cheering. Critics argued the funds could be better spent on ecosystem grants, developer incentives, or protocol security. Proponents countered that a strong token is a rising tide that lifts all boats—and that strategic treasury management is a sign of maturity. The final vote tally reflected that deep division, passing by a decisive but not unanimous margin.

It's a bold bet on tokenomics over direct funding. One cynical observer might note it's easier to boost a chart than to build enduring utility—but then again, in crypto, perception often fuels the reality.

The execution details are now in focus. Which exchanges? What timeframe? At what price levels? The community's oversight shifts from the 'if' to the 'how.' This isn't just a treasury transaction; it's a statement of confidence from the protocol's core stakeholders.

Market watchers are now eyeing the order books. A large, sustained buyback could create significant upward pressure on OP's price—or it could be seen as a short-term gimmick if the underlying network growth doesn't follow. Optimism isn't just betting on its technology anymore; it's betting on its own market.

The vote is over. The real test—whether this financial engineering translates into lasting value—starts now.

The Optimism Collective buyback strategy

The Optimism Collective has officially passed a proposal that had an 84.4% approval rating. The proposal is called OP-0017 and allows the Optimism Foundation to use half of all net profits generated by the Superchain sequencer to buy back OP tokens. The program is a 12-month pilot scheduled to begin in February 2026.

Under the approved plan, the Foundation will partner with an over-the-counter (OTC) provider to execute monthly conversions of Ethereum (ETH) into OP. These repurchased tokens will be held in the Collective treasury, and their final use, which could be staking rewards, ecosystem grants, or potential future burns, will be determined by community votes.

Cryptopolitan recently reported that the Optimism (OP) token hit a record low of $0.2519 in December 2025, leading to this “revenue-sharing” model.

Over the past year, the Superchain generated approximately 5,868 ETH in revenue. At current market valuations, the 50% allocation WOULD represent roughly $8 million in annual buyback pressure, but conversions will pause if monthly revenue falls below $200,000.

Optimism is scheduled to unlock 31.34 million OP tokens on January 31, which accounts for approximately 1.62% of the circulating supply and is valued at roughly $9 million based on current prices.

Are buybacks effective?

By aggregating fees from dozens of chains built on the OP Stack, Optimism is betting that total volume will provide a more stable revenue base than any single network could achieve alone.

The company recently released a 10-year post-quantum roadmap showing its plans to phase out traditional wallet signatures by January 2036 to protect the Superchain against future threats from quantum computing.

Jupiter co-founder Siong Ong recently challenged the protocol’s $70 million buyback, noting that it failed to move the JUP price during the massive 2025–2026 token unlocks. Helium (HNT) also began to focus on operational expansion after finding buybacks ineffective.

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