Optimism Sells 19.5 Million OP Governance Tokens In Private Sale

• The Optimism Foundation has initiated a private sale of around 19.5 million governance tokens, valued at over $89 million, supporting the Ethereum Layer 2 project.
• Despite lacking specific details like terms and the buyer’s identity, the tokens will be subjected to a two-year lockup period.

The Optimism Foundation, backing the Ethereum Layer 2 initiative Optimism, has announced a private sale of approximately 19.5 million governance tokens, currently valued at over $89 million. Optimism hasn’t disclosed the specifics of the sale, including terms and the buyer’s identity.

As per an official statement, the tokens will be subjected to a two-year lockup period. However, the buyer will retain the ability to delegate tokens to unrelated third parties for governance votes. “During the lock-up, the purchaser will be able to delegate the tokens to unaffiliated third parties for participation in governance,” said Optimism.

Optimism announced the sale of these tokens on its governance forum. It further added that the sourcing of the tokens happened through the unallocated segment of the OP token treasury, originally budgeted as 30% of the initial OP token supply.

Optimism disclosed that several transactions linked to the private sale are likely to happen in the near future. This isn’t the foundation’s inaugural private token sale, as it had previously conducted a sale in September 2023, involving 116 million OP tokens valued at over $160 million at that time.

Mixed Reactions from Ethereum Community to Latest OP Private Sale

The recent announcement of the latest OP private sale has stirred up varied reactions within the broader Ethereum community. Anthony Sassano, the founder of The Daily Gwei, expressed his disapproval, stating that “private sales with zero transparency like this just leave a really bad taste in my mouth” on X.

Another user on the platform sarcastically questioned the legitimacy of the sale, remarking, “It’s not dumping if it’s a private sale. Right?” These contrasting viewpoints highlight ongoing discussions surrounding transparency and fairness in private sales within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Optimism has previously engaged in a private token sale of its tokens. On September 21, the network facilitated the transfer of 116 million OP tokens, amounting to approximately $160 million during the sale.

Although there were concerns among some observers that the sale might exert downward pressure on prices, the tokens were subject to a two-year lockup period. Consequently, this delayed impact ensured that the token’s price was not immediately affected. As of press time, Optimism (OP) is trading at $4.59 with a market cap of $4.622 billion.

As reported by Crypto News Flash, Optimism distributed over $100 million during the third round of Optimism’s Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF). In context, the initiative aims to offer assistance to developers and contributors within the Ethereum ecosystem. As per reports, the RetroPGF is structured to guarantee appropriate rewards for individuals and projects involved in constructing fundamental infrastructures, tools, and content.