Optimism published its Year 4 budget update and Year 5 outlook on Aug. 6, forecasting that circulating supply will reach 2.504 billion OP by April 2027. Summary Optimism forecasts circulating
Optimism published its Year 4 budget update and Year 5 outlook on Aug. 6, forecasting that circulating supply will reach 2.504 billion OP by April 2027.
SummaryThat would equal 58.3% of the project’s reported 4.295 billion total supply.
The Foundation’s stated figures imply that approximately 343 million OP could enter circulation from May 2026 through April 2027. Optimism said in the official update that it had not requested a new token allocation and would continue working within the original distribution framework.
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The Ecosystem Fund represents the largest listed Year 5 category, with 200 million OP forecast to enter circulation. Optimism also expects releases of 47.6 million OP for early core contributors, 15.3 million for investors and 10 million from the Governance Fund.
No OP circulation is forecast from airdrops or Retro Funding during the period. However, the figures are not final.
Optimism Projects 343M OP to Enter Circulation Over the Next YearOptimism Foundation released its annual budget update and outlook, projecting that approximately 343 million OP will enter circulation during Year 5 (May 2026–April 2027). The projected increase includes 200… pic.twitter.com/M8gtiAi339
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 6, 2026
The Foundation described them as “directional estimates” that are “subject to adjustment” based on program performance and governance input.
The listed Year 5 categories total 272.9 million OP. Yet the increase from the reported 2.161 billion starting supply to the 2.504 billion target equals roughly 343 million. The post does not identify the remaining 70.1 million OP or reconcile that difference.
A second discrepancy also requires clarification. The budget post lists 2,160,975,703 circulating OP as of Aug. 6, while Optimism’s linked public tracker displayed 2,286,467,356 OP when accessed the same day. The post does not explain the difference of approximately 125.5 million OP.
Optimism said it made about 150 million OP in new commitments during Year 4, around one third below the 229.92 million committed in Year 3. Governance Fund tokens entering circulation fell 53% to 13.4 million, while Retro Funding releases declined 30% to 14.2 million.
No user airdrops occurred during the period. Retro Funding also paused after the final Season 7 mission payments. The Foundation said 777.6 million OP, or 90.5% of the program’s original allocation, remains available for possible future rewards.
Ecosystem Fund circulation rose 53% to 208.5 million OP. However, the Foundation said the increase did not represent equivalent new spending. It attributed most releases to previously approved partner grants reaching vesting dates or completing required milestones.
As previously reported in OP token unlock coverage, tokens entering circulation can increase available supply. However, an unlock does not establish that recipients will sell their tokens.
The Foundation said future deployment would concentrate on growing OP Mainnet and acquiring OP Enterprise customers. The institutional service launched in January with Fully Managed, Self Managed and OP Mainnet tiers for exchanges, payment businesses and financial institutions.
The strategy has produced agreements involving Bitpanda’s Vision Chain, Kraken-backed Ink and Dunamu’s GIWA Chain. Bitpanda plans to launch Vision Chain through the Fully Managed service, while Ink is scheduled to complete its Fully Managed transition in August.
As crypto.news reported in related GIWA Chain coverage, Upbit operator Dunamu selected the Self Managed tier. The structure allows Dunamu to operate the network while receiving support from Optimism.
Optimism also cited ether.fi’s deployment on OP Mainnet, reporting more than 70,000 active cards and $220 million in total value locked. Those figures come from the Foundation and should be treated as company-reported metrics.
Optimism governance approved a 12-month program that directs 50% of eligible Superchain revenue toward monthly OP purchases. The budget update said the program had acquired more than nine million OP by Aug. 6.
As crypto.news reported in its OP buyback approval, governance approved the program in January. The first disclosed purchase used 95.8 ETH to acquire approximately 1.57 million OP.
The purchased tokens are held in the Collective treasury rather than permanently destroyed. The proposal leaves future governance to decide whether repurchased OP will be burned, used for ecosystem funding or assigned another function.
More than nine million OP in buybacks remains well below the 343 million circulation increase implied by the budget’s starting and ending figures. The comparison does not establish future price performance, because circulation, treasury holdings and market sales measure different token flows.
The Foundation will continue assessing spending against OP Mainnet growth and enterprise customer acquisition. It plans to publish its next annual budget update and Year 6 outlook by June 2027.
Before then, investors will need a reconciled supply schedule. The category forecasts, stated starting supply and live tracker currently produce different totals. Until Optimism provides further clarification, the 2.504 billion endpoint should be treated as a directional Foundation forecast rather than a fully reconciled unlock schedule.
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