OKX has executed a broad upgrade to its X Layer network and overhauled the economic model of its OKB token, implementing changes that reshape its infrastructure and supply mechanics.
OKX is targeting DeFi, global payments, and real-world asset issuance as primary use cases, supported by an ecosystem fund, liquidity incentives, and new infrastructure for cross-chain bridges, oracles, and compliance services.
The economic model changes focus on consolidating the role of OKB as the sole gas and native token on X Layer. From the date of the announcement, OKB withdrawals to Ethereum Layer 1 through the OKX exchange have been discontinued, with holders encouraged to migrate to X Layer using a one-click swap feature.
The one-time burn removed tokens from historical repurchases and treasury reserves, and OKX has committed to using a smart contract to automatically burn all future transfers to a designated blackhole address. Following this burn, the OKB smart contract will be upgraded to remove minting and burning functions.
The update also initiates the gradual decommissioning of OKTChain. Trading in OKT was halted on the OKX exchange on August 13, and beginning August 15, the exchange will automatically convert OKT to OKB based on an average closing price calculated from July 13 to August 12. OKTChain will remain operational until January 1, 2026, during which on-chain holders can continue to deposit OKT for conversion.
The market’s response to the announcement was immediate. At press time, OKB’s price surged by over 140%, rising from around $47 to over $140 before stabilizing around $110.
The upgrade also consolidates OKX’s ecosystem across its core products. OKX Wallet now fully supports X Layer with low-fee transactions, the exchange offers gasless withdrawals and transfers of major assets like USDT, and OKX Pay adopts X Layer as its default public network to facilitate faster and lower-cost settlements. These integrations are intended to streamline user interaction with the network and focus activity within a single Layer 2 environment rather than across multiple chains.
While the technical and tokenomic changes are extensive, the rollout is staged with specific execution dates. August 15 marks the start of OKT-to-OKB conversions and the execution of the burn, followed by the August 18 smart contract upgrade.
The final shutdown of OKTChain at the start of 2026 will complete the consolidation process, leaving X Layer as the sole public network within OKX’s blockchain architecture.
