Optimism Foundation disclosed that it sold approximately 19.5 million of its governance tokens at $4.62 and a total of $90M in a private deal.
At the time of writing, the market value of Optimism (OP) tokens is approximately $4.62, placing their total worth at roughly $90 million. The foundation’s announcement regarding the sale of a substantial quantity of tokens specifies a two-year vesting period forbidding the purchaser from selling the tokens before that time.
The Optimism Foundation emphasized that purchasers may continue to utilize the tokens for governance participation during the vesting period. The foundation is composed of the following:
“During the lock-up, the purchaser will be able to delegate the tokens to unaffiliated third parties for participation in governance.”
Additionally, the group specified that the tokens originated from an “unallocated portion of the OP token treasury.” According to the foundation, these assets comprised 30% of the initial OP token supply and were included in the organization’s operational budget at the outset.
The foundation notified the community that the OP tokens will be distributed across multiple transactions in the coming days. Assuring the community that these were intended transactions, Optimism indicated that they pertained to the tokens that were traded in the private sale.
Since the transaction was confidential, Optimism refrained from disclosing information regarding the buyer or the sale. As a result, there were several debates on X, with some individuals criticizing the sale and others defending the foundation.
Anthony Sassano, an advocate for Ethereum, stated that although he has invested in Optimism and adores the cryptocurrency, opaque private transactions leave “a bad taste” in his mouth. Conversely, other community members argued that the Optimism team must also make a living.
Optimism has previously organized and executed a private sale of its tokens. The network transferred 116 million OP tokens on September 21, valued at approximately $160 million, following a private sale.
Some observers anticipated that the sale would have a negative impact on prices. However, the tokens were also subject to a two-year lockup, which meant that the lockup did not affect the token’s pricing immediately.
