OKX Burns $26B in OKB as Tokenomics Get Overhauled

- Crypto exchange OKX permanently removed 278,999,999 OKB tokens from circulation, valued at over $26 billion. - The token burn reduced OKB’s total supply to 21 million, driving a sharp price surge and substantial trading volume growth. On August 15, 2025, Mitrade reported that cryptocurrency exchange OKX overhauled its tokenomics and blockchain infrastructure; Crypto Economy and Coin Gabbar also reported on the overhaul on the same day. As a key part of this restructuring, OKX permanently burned 278,999,999 OKB tokens, valued at over $26 billion. This action reduced OKB's total supply from 300 million to 21 million tokens, a move designed to increase scarcity and enhance the token's long-term value. The market response to this announcement was immediate and significant. OKB’s price soared from around $46 to a peak of $142 before settling at approximately $96. The restructuring also triggered a massive increase in trading activity, with 24-hour trading volume spiking by over 13,000% to reach $723 million. The burn included approximately 65.26 million tokens that the company had accumulated through buyback programs and stored in reserve. OKX also updated the OKB token’s smart contract, permanently disabling both minting capabilities and manual burn mechanisms. This change ensures the token supply will remain fixed. In addition to overhauling its tokenomics, OKX is making substantial upgrades to its blockchain ecosystem. The exchange is enhancing its X Layer Network, a zkEVM public blockchain developed with Polygon, to support decentralized finance (DeFi), payment solutions, and real-world asset (RWA) applications. On August 5, 2025, OKX implemented a major upgrade to the network, which improved transaction throughput to 5,000 transactions per second and significantly reduced gas fees. OKX also integrated its OKX Wallet with X Layer, enabling instant, gas-free withdrawals and transfers for major cryptocurrencies such as USDT. As part of its infrastructure optimization, OKX is decommissioning its older OKTChain to eliminate functional overlaps with the upgraded X Layer Network. OKX has suspended trading of OKT tokens, though the OKTChain will remain operational until January 1, 2026, to allow users ample time to transfer assets. The exchange also urged holders of Ethereum L1 OKB tokens to swap their assets to the X Layer, as it will not support Ethereum withdrawals in the future. According to the latest market data, OKB (OKB) traded at $89.37 as of 16:14 UTC on August 15. This price point was accompanied by a 7.62% decrease in 24-hour trading volume.