The Optimism Foundation has submitted a major governance proposal to restructure how revenue generated by its Superchain network is allocated, with the goal of more directly aligning the value of the OP token with network activity.
Under the proposal, 50% of all incoming Superchain revenue would be used for recurring monthly buybacks of OP tokens from the open market. If approved in a governance vote scheduled for January 22, the program is slated to begin in February 2026 and will run for an initial 12-month pilot period.
The revenue earmarked for buybacks comes from sequencer fees collected by chains within the Superchain ecosystem, which includes networks like Base, OP Mainnet, Ink, and Unichain. These chains, built using Optimism's OP Stack, share a portion of their earnings under existing agreements. Over the past 12 months, this revenue stream has totaled 5,868 ETH, all of which has been directed to the treasury managed by Optimism governance.
The Superchain, launched in February 2023, has seen significant adoption. It now processes over 13% of all on-chain cryptocurrency transactions and commands more than 61.4% of the Ethereum Layer-2 fee market share. The proposal argues that the historical role of OP as a "useless gov token" no longer matches the scale and economic activity of the network it governs.
Michael Vander Meiden, a member of the Optimism Grants Council, highlighted the shift on social media, stating, "After many years of being a 'useless gov token' the value of the OP token will finally be tied to network activity."
The tokens purchased in the buybacks will not be immediately distributed. Instead, they will be held in the Optimism treasury. The Foundation notes that future governance decisions will determine their ultimate use, with options including burning the tokens, using them in staking reward programs, or allocating them for ecosystem incentives. The purchases are planned to be executed in a manner designed to avoid significant market disruption.
This proposal is framed as the first step in a broader redefinition of the OP token's role. Looking ahead, the Foundation suggests OP could take on additional functions such as infrastructure coordination, sequencer rotation, or shared governance mechanisms, further tying its utility to the growth and decentralization of the Superchain.
A community call to discuss the proposal with stakeholders is scheduled for January 12, ahead of the formal Snapshot vote on January 22.
