The Optimism Foundation recently unloaded a whopping 116 million OP tokens, valued at $157 million, in a private & planned sale citing ‘treasury management purposes.’ The transaction, while planned, has rekindled the ongoing debate about the true essence of decentralization in the crypto-sphere.
The sale of the tokens was conducted privately and involved seven undisclosed buyers. The tokens were drawn from an unallocated section of Optimism’s treasury, which is still flush with around $1.25 billion, according to DefiLlama data.
The buyers can delegate the newly acquired tokens to third parties, enabling them to participate in blockchain governance. This feature has raised eyebrows, considering the potential to disrupt the power dynamics in the Optimism ecosystem.
Financials and Market Response
Despite the successful sale, OP tokens haven’t enjoyed a bullish phase. The current trading price is $1.35, registering a 2.19% dip in the last 24 hours. Additionally, the circulating supply of OP tokens is 18.59%, which begs questions about the scarcity and demand of these tokens.
Earlier this week, Optimism also issued its third community airdrop, distributing 19.4 million tokens among over 31,000 users. However, a further 570 million tokens have been earmarked for future airdrops, adding another layer of complexity to the tokenomics of OP.
The Controversy: A Question of Governance?
The token sale hasn’t gone down well with everyone in the crypto community. A tweet by crypto influencer Hsaka critiqued the process, highlighting the absence of a community vote in the decision to sell the tokens. “In a truly decentralized world, there would have been a vote for this sale,” Hsaka tweeted, along with a hypothetical voting scenario illustrating how the community could have blocked the sale.
Another Twitter user pointed out that the tokens were sold to seven anonymous investment funds with a lock-in period of two years, raising further questions about the transparency and decision-making process within the Optimism community.
The Optimism Foundation made a lot of money from its big token sale but also upset some people who care about shared decision-making. In a world where everyone is supposed to have a say, ignoring that is against the principles of decentralization.
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