Optimism Won’t Commit to OP Buyback Beyond 12 Months as Purchases Fall 87%

Optimism will not commit to running its OP buyback beyond the program’s first 12 months, the Foundation told BeInCrypto. Monthly purchases have already fallen 87%.

The buyback is the main source of demand for OP. It bought 6.95 million tokens in March. The following month it bought 926,000.

The Optimism Buyback Is Shrinking Fast

Optimism buys OP each month using up to half of Superchain revenue. Superchain is the group of blockchains running Optimism’s software. The program runs for one year.

Three purchases are on record, published by the Foundation on August 7:

• January revenue bought 1.57 million OP.
• March revenue bought 6.95 million.
• April revenue bought 926,000.

Spending is settled in ether. It fell from 367.9 ETH in March to 50.2 ETH in April. That April purchase was worth about $95,000. The three months together come to 513.9 ETH, or roughly $975,000.

Timing matters. Coinbase’s Base network left the OP Stack in February. Base was the largest chain in the group. OP fell 23% on that news, and Optimism cut more than 20% of its staff weeks later.

Asked what that means for revenue, the Foundation declined to project. It also stopped short of committing to the buyback past its current term.

“We will re-evaluate the buyback at the conclusion of its 12-month program, with feedback from the community. Historically, the Foundation does not discuss Superchain revenue forecasts or projections,” the Foundation said in written responses to BeInCrypto.

216 Million Tokens Are Still Coming

Optimism also updated the supply table in its budget report. It now shows 2.288 billion OP in circulation, up from the 2.161 billion first published.

“Please note that the numbers published in the ‘Finance Overview’ table were slightly out of date. We’ve since updated the data to accurately reflect the numbers,” the team added.

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The Foundation named a separate tracker as the record readers should follow, and explained the timing behind the gap.

“Larger ticket items are added usually on the first week of every month, which explains the gap in numbers.”

It also said the forecast has to be read against its budget calendar, which does not follow the calendar year.

“Note that our Fiscal Year Four started in May 2025 and went through April 2026, and Fiscal Year Five goes from May 2026 to April 2027. This means that we are already in Fiscal Year Five.”

On that basis the Foundation put circulating supply at 2,231.5 million at the close of last year. This year adds 272.9 million, ending at 2,504.4 million. BeInCrypto confirmed those figures.

Counted from the updated August number, about 216 million tokens are still to come. That is worth roughly $19.7 million, or 9% of what the token is worth today.

Buybacks have absorbed 9.45 million OP so far. That covers 4.4% of the supply still ahead.

Retro Funding and Airdrops Stay at Zero

Retro Funding, the grants program paused in January, is set at zero this year. The Foundation said the pause runs on its own 12-month clock.

“Once that 12-month period expires, the Collective will re-evaluate the program and its connection to Optimism’s strategy. Historically, moreover, the Foundation doesn’t provide any guidance on airdrops.”

That review falls inside the current budget year. Two of Optimism’s biggest levers, the buyback and Retro Funding, now sit behind reviews rather than commitments.

OP traded at $0.091 on Monday, up 3.1% on the day and about 12% over 30 days. The token is holding up. The question is whether it still does once the next tranche unlocks.