Originally published at mrnasdog.com/research/okb/full by MrNasdog.
This is a MrNasdog Pressure Framework analysis of OKB (OKX's exchange token) on Metric 1 (sell pressure) and Metric 2 (buy pressure). Narrative (Metric 3) is covered separately. The short version: after the 2025 OKX Reset burned ~235M+ OKB, total supply is now a hard 21 million — BTC-style. Combined with continued buyback-and-burn, OKB has the most aggressive deflationary mechanics of any exchange token we cover.
The setup
OKB is OKX's exchange token, originally an ERC-20 on Ethereum (0x7523…2a86c). Originally issued at ~300M total supply in 2018, OKX ran quarterly buybacks-and-burns for years, then in 2025 executed the "OKB Reset" — a one-time mass burn that destroyed ~235M+ OKB and reduced total supply to 21M with a hard cap going forward. OKB Chain (X Layer) is OKX's L2 EVM chain that uses OKB as gas; the token bridges between Ethereum mainnet and X Layer.
Live numbers, origin-first from Ethereum mainnet RPC + OKX docs:
- Total supply: ~21M OKB (per CoinGecko cross-check; hard cap post-Reset)
- Ethereum mainnet contract holds ~429K OKB (the rest lives on X Layer + bridges)
- Price ~$82 → market cap ~$1.73B
- No protocol inflation (cap is enforced)
- No team vesting today (original 60% to team / advisors / investors vested out years ago)
- Quarterly buyback-and-burn funded by OKX exchange revenue
The sell ledger
What the design predictably puts on the market.
| # | Source | Tag | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protocol inflation | — | 0 (21M hard cap post-Reset) |
| 2 | Vesting unlocks (still-locked allocations on schedule) | — | 0 (original vests completed years ago; the Reset removed the rest) |
| 3 | Team / DAO / identified-group holdings — OKX corporate treasury | Tag B | not separately disclosed from custodial; structural opacity |
| 4 | Bankruptcy estate | — | 0 |
Inflation: zero. Hard 21M cap.
Vesting: zero. The 2018 distribution: 60% team/foundation (5-year vest), 30% ICO, 10% community. Vesting completed in 2023; the 2025 Reset burned much of the remaining team allocation. Nothing scheduled today.
Tag B is OKX corporate treasury, with structural opacity (same shape as BNB). OKX-labeled wallets on Etherscan are primarily exchange custodial — coins belonging to depositors, not OKX's discretion. The framework rule excludes custodial wallets. The actually-discretionary OKX corporate treasury is not separately disclosed in an identified multisig. Honest read: small Tag B that's not enumerable to ONDO Foundation Safe precision.
Bankruptcy estate: zero.
The buy ledger
What the design predictably takes off the market.
| # | Source | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue-backed buyback — OKX uses exchange revenue to buy OKB on the open market | Tag A — quarterly |
| 2 | Burn mechanism — purchased OKB sent to burn address | Tag A — same flow as #1, paired |
| 3 | Locked allocations | — context only (some OKB locked in X Layer staking; small) |
| 4 | Protocol-level demand (gas on X Layer + OKX fee discount) | Tag B — exchange-utility-driven |
Buyback + burn is the structural strength. OKX commits to quarterly buyback-and-burn funded by exchange profits. Unlike BNB's Auto-Burn (which destroys from a team pool, not market), OKX's mechanic does buy on the open market before burning. This makes it a true Tag-A revenue-backed buyback (rare in our coverage — alongside HYPE's Assistance Fund and SKY's surplus buffer).
The volume depends on OKX revenue + the buyback rate set by management. Historically the equivalent of low single-digit millions of OKB per quarter at recent prices, though the post-Reset 21M cap means each buyback now removes a larger % of supply.
Net position
- Sell, Tag A: 0 (no inflation, no vesting)
- Sell, Tag B: small but opaque (OKX corporate treasury not separately disclosed)
- Buy, Tag A: quarterly revenue-backed buyback-and-burn (real market buying, variable with exchange revenue)
Net structural read: favorable, with the same opacity caveat as BNB. OKB combines BNB's "no scheduled supply" cleanliness with a genuine open-market buyback (which BNB lost when Auto-Burn replaced the pre-2021 mechanic). Against ETH-style structural cleanliness it's even tighter — 21M hard cap is more deflationary than ETH's net-flat trend.
Compared to the rest of our coverage:
- OKB: 21M hard cap + quarterly revenue-backed buyback — most aggressively deflationary exchange token
- BNB: ↓3–6%/yr from burns, Auto-Burn ≠ market buyback — favorable
- HYPE: AF buyback > vesting — favorable
- SKY: surplus-buffer revenue-linked buyback — moderately favorable
- ETH: net flat-to-deflationary, lowest gross inflation — favorable
The only structural risk
Same as BNB: opacity. OKX the company holds OKB outside identified custodial wallets, and the framework cannot fully read this. If a future leak or transparency disclosure reveals a separately-held corporate treasury, that becomes a new Tag B line. Until then, the visible sell ledger is empty.
What to watch
-
Quarterly OKB buyback-and-burn announcements at
okx.com/help-center/okb. - OKX exchange revenue trend — drives buyback volume.
- X Layer (OKB Chain) gas demand growth — adds a second protocol-level demand line.
- Any OKX transparency disclosure of separately-held corporate treasury — would add Tag B.
MrNasdog Pressure Framework analysis of OKB, Metrics 1 & 2. Data + explanation only. Not financial advice. Numbers as of May 2026.
Data note: 21M total supply per CoinGecko cross-check (matches OKX's post-Reset published cap). Ethereum mainnet contract balance read directly via eth_call → totalSupply() on the OKB ERC-20 (0x7523…2a86c); the mainnet contract holds only ~429K OKB with the bulk on X Layer + bridges. OKX corporate vs. custodial split flagged as a known opacity.
