According to Optimism's Year 4 budget update and Year 5 outlook published on August 6, the project expects circulating OP supply to reach 2.504 billion tokens by April 2027. This represents approximately 343 million OP entering circulation from May 2026 through April 2027, equal to 58.3% of the project's reported 4.295 billion total supply. The Foundation stated it had not requested a new token allocation and would continue working within the original distribution framework. The new supply represents about 15% increase in circulating tokens, with roughly half of the total supply still locked or reserved. However, the report's own supply target implies 70 million OP that remains unexplained, while the Foundation's official tracker shows 125 million OP unaccounted for, leaving a 195 million OP gap between projected and actual circulating supply. The Foundation has since updated its budget report, showing 2.288 billion OP in circulation as of the latest data, up from the previously reported 2.161 billion.
The budget forecasts include 200 million OP for ecosystem initiatives, 47.6 million OP for early core contributors, 15.3 million OP for investors, and 10 million OP from the Governance Fund. As reported by Optimism, no OP circulation is forecast from airdrops or Retro Funding during Year 5 under the current outlook. The Foundation described these figures as "directional estimates" that are "subject to adjustment" based on program performance and governance input. Investors already hold 92% of their allocation, while early contributors hold 78%, with these large scheduled token unlocks now drawing from a shrinking pool.
Optimism committed approximately 150 million OP during Year 4, representing about one third below the 229.92 million committed in Year 3. According to the update, Governance Fund tokens entering circulation fell 53% to 13.4 million, while Retro Funding releases declined 30% to 14.2 million. The Foundation paused Retro Funding after the final Season 7 mission payments, with 777.6 million OP (90.5% of the program's original allocation) remaining available for future rewards. Both programs have been significantly reduced, with Retro Funding using only 81.4 million OP of an 859 million pool, and the Grants Council budget shrinking substantially.
As reported by Optimism, future deployment will concentrate on growing OP Mainnet and acquiring OP Enterprise customers. The institutional service launched in January 2026, selling production-grade infrastructure to exchanges, fintechs and banks. The strategy has produced agreements involving Bitpanda's Vision Chain, Kraken-backed Ink and Dunamu's GIWA Chain, with Bitpanda planning to launch Vision Chain through the Fully Managed service. OP Mainnet grew monthly transactions by more than 60% in Year 4, with the Foundation tying all future spending to the OP Enterprise strategy and measuring success against OP Mainnet growth and enterprise customer acquisition.
According to the budget update, Optimism's governance-approved buyback program has acquired more than nine million OP by August 6, 2026. The program, which directs 50% of eligible Superchain revenue toward monthly OP purchases for one year, has acquired tokens using 95.8 ETH to purchase approximately 1.57 million OP in its first disclosed purchase. The program's performance has significantly declined, with monthly purchases falling 87% from the initial 6.95 million OP bought in March to just 926,000 OP in April. The April purchase was worth approximately $95,000, bringing total spending to 513.9 ETH or roughly $975,000 across three months. The Foundation has now confirmed it will not commit to running the buyback program beyond its current 12-month term, stating it will re-evaluate the program at its conclusion with community feedback. Buybacks have absorbed 9.45 million OP so far, covering 4.4% of the supply still ahead, with about 216 million tokens worth roughly $19.7 million still to come.
