- The Optimism Foundation’s proposal for token buybacks will be put to a governance vote on January 22, 2026.
- OP’s price has fallen sharply over the past year, leaving sentiment largely bearish.
- A buyback program could support a recovery; some observers are targeting $0.52–$0.75 for OP.
The OP token from Optimism traded around $0.30 on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, marking a small gain over the previous 24 hours as the community approaches a key governance vote.
After reaching intraday highs of $0.37 last week, the token’s decline to current levels raises the risk of a retrace toward the December low near $0.25.
Could the Optimism Foundation’s proposal to direct Superchain revenue into monthly OP purchases provide meaningful support to bulls?
Details and implications of the Optimism buyback
Optimism is preparing for a governance vote on January 22, 2026, following a proposal published earlier this month.
The Optimism Foundation is seeking community approval to allocate 50% of sequencer fees to on-market OP buybacks.
A proposal for the next chapter of Optimism 🔴
The Optimism Foundation is putting forward a proposal to align the OP token with growing Superchain demand by directing 50% of incoming Superchain revenue to regular OP buybacks
— Optimism (@Optimism) January 8, 2026
If the vote passes, the program would begin in February, with 50% of Superchain revenue allocated to Optimism and buybacks scheduled throughout the following year.
Similar to other fee-based buyback models, such as dYdX’s approach, Optimism plans to make purchases on the open market. However, the purchased tokens would be returned to the protocol’s treasury rather than being immediately spent.
If buybacks are paired with token burns at some future point, a shrinking circulating supply would signal increased confidence in OP and the Superchain’s growth.
“Through this buyback mechanism, the token moves from a pure governance asset to one that is more closely aligned with Superchain growth,” Optimism wrote when outlining the plan.
The mechanism targets each new project that launches a chain inside the Superchain, aiming to raise baseline demand for OP as Superchain activity increases.
OP token price outlook
Optimism’s OP price has plunged roughly 94% from its peak of $4.85 reached in March 2024. The prolonged downtrend has dented holder sentiment, and even with the buyback proposal, forecasts remain primarily bearish.
Downside pressure could persist if Optimism does not effectively remove bought-back tokens from circulation. By contrast, periodic token burns or consistent buybacks that reduce supply have helped other projects regain momentum.
In the short term, a positive outcome from the governance vote could lift OP toward $0.52.
On the daily chart, the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages currently act as resistance zones near $0.32 and $0.51, respectively.
Targets between $0.60 and $0.75 become plausible if the broader crypto market stages a recovery from the prevailing downward pressure.
A rally in Ethereum and leading ecosystem tokens would likely serve as a catalyst for any meaningful OP rebound.
However, bearish momentum keeps the psychological $1 level out of reach for now.
Large upcoming token unlocks could continue to cap gains, and renewed selling pressure could push OP back toward $0.25 if negative catalysts materialize.