Optimism DAO approved a one-year pilot program to buy back OP tokens with 84% support. This decision marks a complete shift for the company, linking token demand to superchain revenue.
The pilot program approved by Optimism DAO will allocate 50% of the Superchain sequencer’s net revenue to monthly OP token purchases over a 12-month period. Initially, execution will be handled through an over-the-counter (OTC) provider to minimize market impact during predefined conversion windows. If the results are as expected, the Foundation plans to subsequently migrate to fully on-chain execution.
If the Joint House reaches the required 60% threshold, the Optimism Foundation will begin converting sequencer revenue into OP token purchases starting in February 2026, according to governance documents and industry reports. This measure aims to establish a recurring demand mechanism for the token, aligning ecosystem revenue with long-term value capture.
One of the company’s measures to reinforce this initiative is to regularly publish transparency, including all transactions, volumes, and execution metrics, on a monitoring dashboard. In this way, ecosystem participants will be able to evaluate the program’s performance and its impact on the OP token market in real time.
For reference, the Superchain’s revenue last year totaled 5,868 ETH, equivalent to approximately $17.6 million, which would imply a projected annual implementation of buybacks of around 2,700 ETH, or about $8 million, assuming similar revenue levels.
Context of the approval and future of Optimism DAO
Before the vote, the company addressed the issue and warned that buybacks combined with ongoing issuances could be financially self-cancelling and destructive to value. Meanwhile, another sector of the company emphasized that a rapid transition from OTC to on-chain purchases would be better to preserve decentralization.
The proposal includes automated safeguards: buybacks will be paused if the Superchain’s monthly revenue falls below a $200,000 threshold or if the OTC provider encounters execution issues. The acquired OPs will be held in the Optimism Collective’s treasury, and their eventual use—whether burned, for staking rewards, or as ecosystem incentives—will be subject to future governance decisions.
Investors and developers should keep an eye on the Joint House vote and the February 2026 launch date: if the Joint House approves the proposal with the required 60%, buybacks will begin, and monthly reports will provide the first public data on pace, executions, and prices.
