Optimism’s last-minute vote redirects $49.7M to fund

Optimism redirected $49.7M in OP tokens from user airdrops to a Foundation fund after a last-minute vote, raising concerns about transparency and user benefits.

Optimism has approved a contentious proposal to reallocate 546.9 million OP tokens—about 12.7% of its total supply, valued at roughly $49.7 million—from user airdrop allocations to a Foundation-controlled Strategic Ecosystem Fund. The decisive vote came from the core development team, Test in Prod, which contributed 8.486 million OP in favor just 16 minutes before the deadline. This last-minute action shifted support from 45.77% to 61.84%, ensuring the proposal's passage. Without this intervention, the tokens would have remained reserved for user airdrops. The Foundation claims that large-scale airdrops no longer align with its institutional adoption strategy. Instead, the new fund will focus on partnerships, incentives, and enterprise collaborations. However, critics have voiced concerns about transparency, oversight, and unclear benefits for token holders. This move signals a major shift in Optimism’s financial strategy, emphasizing ecosystem growth over direct user rewards.