OKX launched X Layer with OKB as exclusive gas token, enhancing utility
OKB, the native token of crypto exchange OKX, has emerged as a top gainer, defying the broader market dip with a 26% surge. The exchange token has been on a tear since Wednesday, setting new all-time highs daily.
Its resilience amid a sluggish market signals strong spot demand, with on-chain data showing an uptick in derivatives market activity.
Coinglass data reveals that OKB’s futures open interest has climbed to an all-time high, pointing to heightened participation from futures traders. As of this writing, this stands at $23.21 million, rocketing over 100% in the past 24 hours.
Open interest measures the total value of outstanding futures contracts that have not yet been settled, serving as a key gauge of market participation and trader conviction.
When an asset sees an open interest spike during a price rally, it signals that new money is flowing into the market to back the trend rather than traders merely rotating positions. This influx of leveraged bets increases price momentum, as bullish traders build long positions in anticipation of further gains.
Therefore, OKB’s climbing open interest alongside its new daily all-time highs shows growing confidence that the rally has room to extend.
Further, the token’s positive funding rate confirms this bullish outlook. Per Coinglass, OKB’s weighted funding rate stood at 0.0732%, flipping over from the negative value recorded yesterday.
One of the biggest sparks came on August 13 when OKX executed one of the largest token burns in crypto history. More than 65.26 million OKB, worth around $7.6 billion, were permanently removed from circulation.
That move cut the circulating supply by more than half and locked the total cap at 21 million – the same scarcity zone as Bitcoin. In simple terms, OKB is now harder to come by, and markets reacted instantly to the shock.
The effect on price has been dramatic. Within days of the burn, OKB exploded more than 160%, smashed through the $200 barrier, and kept climbing. Today, it hit above $240, printing another new record.
Over the last 30 days, OKB is up almost 300%, easily outperforming every other top 100 coin. In a market starved for momentum, this kind of surge stands out even more.
The burn wasn’t the only catalyst. OKX also launched its new X Layer, a Layer 2 blockchain built with Polygon’s zkEVM technology. It can handle up to 5,000 transactions per second at near-zero cost, and OKB is the exclusive gas token.
That gives OKB direct utility across the entire OKX ecosystem – exchange, wallet, payments, and now blockchain transactions. Scarcity plus real-world usage is powering investor interest.
On the daily chart, OKB’s RSI has exploded to 96, a level rarely seen even during strong bull runs. An RSI this high signals extreme overbought conditions, meaning the token has run far ahead of its usual trend.
Such readings often precede short-term pullbacks as traders take profits. In other words, OKB may need to cool off or consolidate before attempting another leg higher.
If demand remains high, OKB could revisit its current all-time high of $257.57 and attempt to record new price peaks over the next few sessions.
However, an uptick in profit-taking activity could prevent this. OKB could lose some of its gains if sell-offs commence and potentially drop to $210.57.
The latest price data shows OKB trading at $240, having gained 27% in the last 24 hours while most of the crypto top 100 remains flat.
