OKX to Retire Over 65 Million Tokens, Sending Price to New Highs

• OKX announced it will burn 65,256,712.097 OKB tokens, valued at approximately $7.6 billion
• Following the burn, OKB’s maximum supply will be permanently capped at 21 million
• OKB prices exploded, surging over 150%, while the trading volume soared by 13,000%

OKX announced it will burn 65,256,712.097 OKB tokens, valued at approximately $7.6 billion. The huge deflationary action ranks among the largest in the history of cryptocurrency exchange tokens.

Following the burn, OKB’s maximum supply will be permanently capped at 21 million. The new token contract has been designed to permanently eliminate both minting and manual burning capabilities, thereby making the total supply immutable.

Almost immediately after OKX’s announcement, OKB prices exploded, surging over 150%. The token briefly traded at around $134-$142, and it’s currently hovering at about $106. Also, trading volume soared by 13,000%, reaching $723 million.

Related: SHIB Burn Explained: Everything to Know About Shiba Inu Coin Burning

This is part of OKX’s ongoing decision to upgrade its X Layer, which involves several steps, with some already completed and others expected to be finished within the next several days.

For instance, OKX already integrated Polygon’s CDK stack, increased throughput to 5,000 TPS, drastically reduced gas fees, and improved Ethereum compatibility.

The Ethereum L1 version of OKB will be phased out, with holders migrating to the X Layer version. OKTChain is also being decommissioned and OKT tokens will be converted to OKB at a set rate over time.

OKX is no stranger to token burns

When it comes to burns, the blockchain company has conducted regular quarterly ones since 2019, gradually reducing the circulating supply of OKB.

The last burn in June removed 42.4 million OKB (approximately 20% of circulating supply), which sparked a notable rally around $54.70. Some of the earlier burns ranged from 5 to 11 million OKB, with the goal of these cumulative efforts to consistently reduce the token’s supply and increase its scarcity.

Related: Bitget to Burn $138 Million Worth of Its BGB Token in Q2 Burn Event

With the announcement and the X Layer upgrade, OKB positions itself as a core utility token for DeFi, payments, and real-world asset use. Plus, halving the token supply positions OKB like a Bitcoin-esque asset, which is expected to boost its long-term value.

The burning of the tokens is scheduled to take place on August 15, while the entire upgrade implementation should be done on August 18, when the removal of minting and burning functionalities is planned.