Optimism’s OP Governance Token Goes Live With Airdrop To 249K Wallets

Optimism’s highly anticipated OP token has finally gone live with the launch of its airdrop, which will see nearly 249,000 wallets of early Optimism and select Ethereum users eligible to claim the tokens. However, there have been some niggles, with some users claiming they have been unable to claim the tokens thanks to high demand. 

OP Token Airdrop Goes Live 

The OP token airdrop was first mooted in April when Optimism revealed its plans to launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) along with the OP token that holders can use to vote in the community. The DAO will use revenues generated from transaction fees on Optimism and fund grants for “public goods.”

The tokens will initially go to wallets that have used the network before the 23rd of June, 2021. Additional tokens will be offered to users who have participated in the DAO governance on Ethereum, returning or repeat users and users who have donated to platforms such as Gitcoin. Optimism also revealed that there are future airdrops in the offing. 

Hype Around Token Building 

Optimism is a scaling solution that offers cheaper, faster, and more energy-efficient transactions than currently possible on Ethereum. All transactions conducted on Optimism are rolled into batches and submitted on the Ethereum blockchain as a single transaction. There has been a surge in anticipation and demand around the OP token, and Optimism acknowledged the same on Twitter, stating, 

“We have NOT officially announced yet, but we’re already experiencing an all-time high demand. We knew everyone would be excited, but holy cow — y’all just couldn’t wait for #OPSummer.”

Prior to Optimism’s airdrop, several exchanges such as AAX and OKX tweeted that they would be supporting the OP token. 

A Few Teething Issues 

With the airdrop officially underway, there have been a few hiccups, with users stating that they have not been able to claim their OP tokens thanks to the spike in demand. Users took to Twitter, claiming that while they were shown as eligible for the airdrop earlier, they have now been listed as ineligible to claim the airdropped tokens. 

Optimism on its part acknowledged the issues, stating that it was working on adding additional server capacity, after which it would make an announcement regarding the airdrop and its redemption process. 

The Optimism Collective 

The Optimism Collective is Optimism’s DAO initiative and consists of two houses, the “Citizens’ House” and the “Token House.” The former is focused on “public goods,” while the latter would be governing Optimism’s incentive structure, software upgrades, and planned software upgrades. Optimism’s plan to fund public goods has received praise from various quarters, including the founder of Gitcoin, Kevin Owocki, who acknowledged Optimism’s support of Gitcoin. He stated, 

“Optimism is widely known for their role in helping scale Ethereum with their L2, but what is less known is their deep ethos alignment and financial support for ecosystem public goods. Back in the heart of the 2019 bear market, the Optimism team gave $100,000 in support for Gitcoin Grants at a time in which no one else would. Today, they are a large supporter of Retroactive Public Goods—a scalable and effective way of distributing public goods funding to the ecosystem. The public goods ethos is strong with the Optimism team, and I’m glad to see this extended to the DAO.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.