Original author: Ma He, Foresight News
In early August, the Optimism Foundation formally submitted a proposal on the governance forum to reallocate the remaining 546.9 million OP from user airdrops to a "Strategic Ecosystem Fund," as this may substantially impact token holders' expectations for future airdrops and requires voter approval. Voting commenced on August 14 at Beijing Time and will conclude on August 20 at 12:07.
As of the latest on-chain data, support votes total approximately 9.105 million OP, while opposition votes amount to approximately 4.258 million OP. The quorum requirement is approximately 16.54 million OP, and current participation remains significantly below the threshold. The voting outcome has not yet been finalized, and community deliberation is ongoing.
Suspend OP buybacks after May this year.
The initial total supply of OP is approximately 4.295 billion tokens. Of this, 19% (approximately 816 million tokens) has been explicitly reserved for user airdrops. Although not a formal legal obligation, the Optimism team has repeatedly confirmed this allocation in public communications over multiple years, including as recently as the Airdrop 5 distribution in October 2024, when they noted that approximately 550 million tokens remain available for future airdrops.
Actual implementation shows that five airdrops were completed between 2022 and 2024, distributing a total of approximately 269.1 million OP tokens, accounting for about 33% of the reserved supply. The first round had the highest allocation, and subsequent rounds continuously adjusted their criteria, shifting from early metrics such as usage and gas consumption to governance delegation, OP mainnet activity, NFT creators, and Superchain participation.
In the fourth year (May 2025 to April 2026), there will be no new airdrops; the official strategy has shifted decisively toward targeted growth initiatives focused on measurable retention and revenue outcomes.
On-chain data also shows that Optimism has not proceeded with the planned OP buybacks since May. After completing the second and third monthly community buybacks in March and April, the team unilaterally halted all subsequent buyback plans. In March, they spent 367.905 ETH to repurchase 6,951,453 OP, and in April, they spent 50.16 ETH to repurchase 925,654 OP. To date, the total number of OP repurchased amounts to 9,451,924 OP, valued at approximately $756,200 based on the latest price of $0.08.
The foundation stated it will reassess after the 12-month period ends and does not commit to long-term continuation.
Meanwhile, the overall OP allocation in the fourth year decreased by approximately 35% compared to the third year. The new circulating supply of the governance fund decreased by 53% year-over-year, Retro Funding (a public goods funding mechanism where OP rewards are distributed based on actual contributions) expenditures declined by 30%, and airdrops were eliminated. The foundation simultaneously released an updated budget for the fourth year and a projection for the fifth year, anticipating approximately 273 million new OP tokens in circulation during the fifth year (excluding any potential reallocation of airdrop allocations), with an estimated allocation of about 200 million OP to the ecosystem fund.
According to DefiLlama data, its total TVL has dropped significantly from a peak of $5.5 billion to $526 million.
Strategic shift toward business growth
The cryptocurrency market's layer-2 networks are currently facing issues such as user attrition and lack of innovation. According to the latest data from Token Terminal, the number of core developers has decreased to 42, down from a peak of 144 at the end of 2024.
Currently, Optimism is expanding into the enterprise market, including fintech, exchanges, payment institutions, and traditional financial institutions, with existing partnerships such as Bitpanda, Ink, and Dunamu.
Specifically, the proposal requires:
- Create a new allocation category: "Strategic Ecosystem Fund";
- Reallocate the remaining 546.9 million OP from the user airdrop category to this fund;
- Uses include facilitating collaborations for chains, protocols, institutions, and infrastructure to join the OP Stack, incentivizing on-chain activity and liquidity on OP Mainnet, and expanding partnerships with top brands and institutions.
Airdrops from rounds 1 to 5 remain unaffected. If the proposal is approved, the foundation will update the token allocation documentation and public accounting records, while continuing to use the existing grant oversight and annual budget reporting mechanisms. The fifth-year budget projection itself already assumes zero airdrop expenditure and explicitly states that this projection is independent of the current reallocation proposal.
After the proposal was officially launched, early voting initially favored support. However, as community discussions intensified, opposition quickly grew. Key criticisms centered on three points: the originally user-allocated portion was redirected toward corporate growth funding controlled by the foundation, with the official party using DAO governance as a pretext to reclaim tokens; following the nullification of both the airdrop and Retro Funding, incentives for ordinary users have further narrowed.
Among them, the shift in stance by olimpio.eth, a whale in the airdrop space with a long history of participating in Optimism governance, has drawn attention. This account previously demonstrated high engagement in over 120 governance votes, and its voting record shows 2,165,459 opposing votes—considered its first-ever opposition vote since joining Optimism governance. Some participants have criticized
In community discussions, there is a recurring call to "preserve future airdrop rights," while some argue that even if the proposal fails, the official team currently has no new airdrop plans, making the actual impact limited.
If the proposal is ultimately approved, Optimism’s token allocation structure will formally shift further toward enterprise and institutional growth, moving beyond its current dual model of user airdrops and ecosystem incentives. This aligns with its OP Enterprise product line, Superchain expansion, and broader trend toward disciplined spending. For token holders, this may reinforce short-term expectations that growth takes precedence over broad distribution, potentially putting downward pressure on the token price.
There are still approximately two days remaining before voting closes, and the final outcome may still change. As of publication, market data shows that the current market capitalization of the Optimism (OP) token is approximately $185 million, with the token price fluctuating around $0.08, and a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $348 million.