Optimism 61% Market Share Dominates L2! OP Buyback Program Launches in February

Optimism proposal will allocate 50% of Superchain revenue to buy back OP, with the alliance holding 61.4% of the L2 market share. If approved in the January 22 vote, OP will transition from a governance token to a value token tied to Superchain growth.

From Governance Token to Value Capture Tool

This proposal from the Optimism Foundation marks a fundamental shift in the function of the OP token. Over the past five years, OP Stack has evolved from an Ethereum scaling experiment into the default infrastructure for professional developers. Exchanges, enterprises, and blue-chip institutions are adopting Superchain because it offers the security, scalability, and economic transparency needed to support the world’s most liquid markets.

Superchain accounts for 61.4% of the L2 fee market share, processes 13% of cryptocurrency transactions, and this share continues to grow. However, the value of the OP token has not fully reflected this market dominance. As a pure governance token, OP holders can participate in protocol decisions but cannot directly benefit from Superchain revenue growth. This lack of a value capture mechanism puts OP at a disadvantage compared to other L2 tokens.

Optimism’s revenue comes from Superchain, a network of L2 chains built on OP Stack, including Base, Unichain, Ink, World Chain, Soneium, OP Mainnet, and others. These chains share a portion of their sequencer revenue back to Optimism. Over the past 12 months, Optimism has earned 5,868 ETH, all of which has been deposited into a treasury overseen by the Optimism governance body. As Superchain expands, the treasury continues to grow.

The proposal suggests that 50% of Superchain’s future monthly revenue will be used to buy back OP tokens. The greater the demand for Superchain, the more revenue OP can generate. Through this buyback mechanism, OP will shift from a purely governance token to a value token closely linked to Superchain. This mechanism will start small but will gradually expand as Optimism develops. Every enterprise creating a new chain on Superchain increases potential demand, and every developer choosing OP Mainnet accelerates this flywheel effect.

Logic of the Buyback Mechanism and Capital Flow

The proposal recommends using 50% of Superchain’s monthly revenue over the next year to buy back OP tokens. These repurchased tokens will be re-injected into the token treasury. As the platform develops, these tokens can be burned or distributed as staking rewards, with the governance body continuously monitoring the parameters of buybacks and the token treasury.

Three Key Elements of the Buyback Mechanism

Revenue Source: 50% of sequencer revenue from Superchain members like Base, Unichain, etc., used for buybacks

Execution Frequency: Monthly buyback operations, based on actual revenue for the month

Token Destination: Purchased OP tokens are stored in the governance treasury, with future options to burn or distribute as staking rewards

The proposal also allows the Optimism Foundation to directly manage all Ethereum income not used for buybacks. Besides the currently approved staking plans, this will help manage funds more proactively, aiming to promote the development of the Superchain shared economy. This expansion of financial management authority provides the foundation with greater flexibility to respond quickly to market opportunities.

The economic logic of the buyback mechanism is to create sustained buying pressure. As Superchain usage increases, revenue grows, and the buyback scale naturally expands. This automated value feedback loop makes it likely that the price of the OP token will rise in tandem with the success of Superchain. Additionally, tokens bought back and burned will directly reduce circulating supply, further supporting the price.

Amplifying the Value of the Superchain Flywheel Effect

Superchain operates as a flywheel: users generate revenue, revenue funds development, and development in turn attracts more users. By allocating part of the revenue to support OP, the alliance ensures that users, developers, infrastructure providers, and token holders all support and grow within the same system. OP becomes a shared reference point, and as activity grows, more resources will flow back into the construction, security, and expansion of Superchain.

This marks the first step in expanding OP’s functionality beyond its current scope. As Superchain evolves, the token may take on additional roles aligned with long-term decentralization and resilience, including safeguarding shared infrastructure security, coordinating sequencer rotations, and enabling collective governance of core protocol functions. Establishing this initial use case lays the foundation for further evolution of the token’s utility.

As the largest member chain in Superchain, Base’s success directly drives the entire ecosystem’s revenue growth. With more enterprise-grade chains like Unichain, World Chain, and Soneium launching, Superchain’s total revenue is expected to grow exponentially. This network effect means that each new chain not only increases revenue but also enhances the overall ecosystem’s attractiveness, creating a positive feedback loop.

January 22 Vote Decides the Future

This governance proposal will be put to a vote on January 22. If approved, the buyback program will commence in February. OP Stack is becoming the settlement layer for the next-generation financial system, and according to this proposal, the OP token will appreciate as Superchain grows.

The voting process follows Optimism’s standard governance procedures and requires sufficient community support to pass. Given that this proposal explicitly ties OP tokens to Superchain revenue, providing holders with a direct value capture pathway, it is expected to garner broad support.