Optimism governance vote sparks controversy: 5.469 million OP tokens redirected from user airdrop to ecosystem fund

Odaily reported that an Optimism community governance proposal has been passed, reallocating 546.9 million OP tokens originally intended for user airdrops to the "Strategic Ecosystem Fund" managed by the Optimism Foundation, sparking discussions within the community over governance transparency and user rights.

The OP tokens involved in this proposal account for approximately 12.7% of the total supply, valued at around $49.7 million at current prices. The Optimism Foundation stated that as the ecosystem strategy shifts toward institutional adoption and enterprise partnerships, large-scale user airdrops no longer fully align with the current development direction, and unused tokens can be deployed for ecosystem incentives, partnership building, and enterprise-level project expansion.

The vote ultimately passed with 17.974 million OP in favor and 10.931 million OP against. The pivotal turning point came 16 minutes and 52 seconds before the vote closed, when Test in Prod (delegate.testinprod-io.eth), the core development team of the Optimism ecosystem, cast 8.486 million OP in support, raising the approval ratio from 45.77% to 61.84% and ultimately pushing the proposal through.

Excluding Test in Prod's vote, the proposal's support rate would stand at only 46.47%, failing to pass, and the relevant tokens would likely have remained in the user allocation pool. The Optimism Foundation previously committed to disclosing the cumulative usage of the fund and related outcomes through annual budget reports. This vote has also reignited discussions about the influence of "large delegated voting power" in DAO governance and the balance of token holder rights. (CoinDesk)