OKX's X Layer Unveils On-Chain Perpetuals Focus Amid Strategic Upgrade and OKB Tokenomics Overhaul

The Event in Detail

OKX CEO Star has indicated that X Layer, the exchange's zkEVM-based public network, will focus on addressing on-chain perpetuals. This announcement is part of a broader strategic upgrade for X Layer, developed in collaboration with Polygon, which completed its "PP upgrade" on August 5, 2025, integrating the latest version of Polygon CDK.

The technical enhancements resulting from this upgrade include an increased throughput of 5,000 transactions per second (TPS), ensuring support for high-concurrency scenarios. Gas costs have been reduced to a negligible level, aiming to improve user transaction experience. The upgrade also enhances security and compatibility with the Ethereum mainnet, providing a more robust and developer-friendly blockchain environment.

X Layer's ecosystem construction strategy will specifically target DeFi, global payments, and the issuance and circulation of Real-World Assets (RWA). To attract developers and project teams, OKX plans to establish an ecosystem fund and provide liquidity incentives. Infrastructure improvements are also underway for cross-chain bridges, oracles, and compliance services to accelerate the deployment of ecosystem applications.

Deep integration across the OKX ecosystem is central to the strategy. OKX Wallet will fully support the X Layer network, offering a global on-chain ecosystem with low gas fees. The OKX Exchange will introduce 0 gas fast withdrawals, enabling one-click, gasless transfers of USDT and other major assets via X Layer. Furthermore, X Layer will serve as OKX Pay's default public network.

A significant element of this strategic shift involves an upgrade to the OKB token's economic model. OKB will continue as the sole gas and native token for X Layer. The Ethereum L1 version of OKB is being phased out, with holders advised to deposit OKB to OKX Exchange for conversion to the X Layer version. On August 15, 2025, a one-time burn of 65,256,712.097 OKB tokens, accumulated from historical repurchases and treasury reserves, was executed. This action fixes the total OKB supply at 21 million, mirroring Bitcoin's fixed supply. Following this, the OKB smart contract was upgraded on August 18, 2025, to remove minting and burning functionalities. The OKTChain is also being phased out, with OKT tokens automatically converted to OKB on OKX Exchange.

This announcement spurred a notable market reaction for OKB. Its price surged approximately 208% within two hours, rising from around $46 to $142, with its fully diluted valuation briefly reaching $7.45 billion. On August 14, 2025, OKB's 24-hour trading volume reached approximately $1.44 billion, with OKX alone accounting for $275 million of that volume. As of August 18, 2025, X Layer had processed 13.06 million transactions, with a total transaction volume of 1.33 million OKB (approximately $150 million) and a Total Value Bridged (TVB) of 378,000 OKB (approximately $43.09 million). The network's addresses exceeded 1.85 million, with daily increases of 50,000, and its assets grew 103% in seven days, reaching $84.89 million. On August 16, 2025, X Layer processed 2.05 million transactions, surpassing Ethereum for the first time, partly fueled by a meme coin boom. OKX Pay, built on X Layer, facilitates instant, secure global USDT/USDC transfers with zero fees and offers 5% APY on USDT.

Market Implications

OKX's strategic pivot for X Layer and its renewed focus on on-chain perpetuals signify an intensification of competition within the decentralized derivatives and Layer-2 ecosystems. The platform's entry into on-chain perpetuals directly positions it against established players like Hyperliquid, which as of August 2025, commanded a significant 70–80% share of the perpetual futures market, processing over $100 million in monthly revenue. The integration of perpetual trading within platforms like MetaMask further underscores the growing demand for seamless, on-chain trading solutions. X Layer's enhanced throughput of 5,000 TPS and near-zero gas fees are critical competitive advantages in attracting high-frequency traders and developers in this sector.

In the broader "on-chain ecosystem war" among major exchanges, OKX's strategy of a "one chain, one token" model, deeply integrated with its core services—exchange, wallet, and payments—offers a distinct approach. This contrasts with Binance's BNB Chain, which reported 11.8 million active addresses and over 3 million daily active users in June 2025, and Coinbase's Base, which as of August 15, 2025, held a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $16.1 billion across 229 million addresses and 1.2 million daily active users. X Layer's rapid growth metrics, including surpassing Ethereum in daily transactions on August 16, 2025, indicate its aggressive pursuit of market share and user adoption.

The deliberate restructuring of OKB's tokenomics, particularly the one-time burn of over 65 million tokens to fix its total supply at 21 million, aims to create a deflationary asset model akin to Bitcoin's scarcity. This move, combined with OKB's exclusive role as the gas token for X Layer, is designed to enhance its long-term value proposition. The immediate 208% price surge following the announcement suggests a positive investor response to the perceived scarcity and utility of OKB, potentially attracting further investment and liquidity to the OKX ecosystem.

Broader Context

The strategic upgrade of X Layer and its renewed focus on DeFi, global payments, and RWA applications underscore a broader industry trend toward specialized, high-performance Layer-2 solutions that can rival or exceed the capabilities of existing blockchain networks. The intensifying "on-chain ecosystem war" among major exchanges reflects a fundamental shift in their competitive strategies, moving beyond centralized trading to integrated, scalable, and cost-efficient on-chain infrastructure.

The deliberate recalibration of OKB's tokenomics, including a significant burn and the establishment of a fixed supply, illustrates a growing emphasis on sustainable economic models and value accrual mechanisms within the competitive cryptocurrency landscape. This approach aims to build a robust, self-sufficient ecosystem capable of supporting advanced Web3 applications and attracting a substantial user base, thereby contributing to the maturation and widespread adoption of decentralized technologies.