Optimism through buyback mechanism: Superchain net income 50% buy back OP starting February

Optimism governance platform passed the buyback proposal with 84.4% high support rate. Starting from February this year, it will allocate 50% of the net income from the Superchain supernet to repurchase OP tokens, attempting to strengthen the token’s value capture ability.
(Background: OP Labs announced a 10-year quantum resistance plan! Phasing out ECDSA accounts before 2036 to build an unbreakable Superchain)
(Additional background: Base chain’s 2025 report card: revenue increased 30 times, consolidating its leading position in Layer2)

Layer2 scaling solution Optimism officially voted to approve the “OP Token Buyback Proposal (OP-0017)” on the morning of the 29th, which received an overwhelming support of 84.4%.

Since February this year, Optimism will launch a 12-month trial, using 50% of the net income from the Superchain Sequencer to buy back OP tokens on the open market, with the remaining 50% retained for supporting the ecosystem fund, project funding, and daily operations.

Image source: vote.optimism.io

Superchain Ecosystem Map and Revenue Structure

The Superchain is a large chain network built on OP Stack, covering OP Mainnet, Base, Unichain, World Chain, Soneium, Ink, and other chains. Currently, it accounts for over 60% of the Layer2 market share.

The core logic of the buyback mechanism is to establish a “revenue buyback — value incentive” flywheel effect, linking network prosperity with token value. However, the revenue sources of Superchain are highly concentrated, with the Base chain alone contributing over 71% of the income. This dependency is viewed by some community members as a sign of a “fragile alliance.” If Base shifts its strategy or leaves the alliance, the buyback plan could face significant funding source reductions.

OP Token Incentive Phenomenon Is Not Obvious

This decision is seen as a major transformation from OP being a purely governance token to a “revenue-driven” model. However, the incentive effect on the token is not obvious. As of press time, OP is priced at about $0.294. After the vote passed, there was some initial price increase and trading volume expansion, but it quickly retraced.

In the face of increasing competition, OP has fallen about 95% from its all-time high in early 2024. Over the past two years, it has continued to fluctuate downward, and the ecosystem faces significant challenges.