Here’s Why OKX’s Native Token Jumped Over 170% in Two Hours

A few hours ago, the crypto exchange OKX announced an upgrade to its Ethereum scaling solution, X Layer. Dubbed the PP upgrade, the newly improved L2 blockchain can now establish a public network that features decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, payment solutions, and real-world assets (RWAs).

Following the announcement, OKX’s native token, OKB, saw a rapid price surge by over 170% to an all-time high (ATH) of $139.76.

What is the X Layer?

In November 2023, OKX disclosed the mainnet beta for the X Layer. Fast-forward to April 2024, the crypto exchange announced the public mainnet debut of the X Layer. Built using the Polygon CDK, this L2 network taps zero-knowledge (zk) proofs to enable fast, cheap, on-chain transactions.

The X Layer taps into Polygon’s AggLayer. This helps to connect zk-secured layer-1 and layer-2 networks to unify their network state and liquidity pools.

Before the X Layer, OKX focused on OKTChain, a layer-1 blockchain launched via Cosmos in 2021. OKTChain is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC). The OKT cryptocurrency, which serves as its native digital asset, is at the helm of its operations.

Notably, other crypto platforms besides OKX have explored the development of blockchain networks to deepen their market presence. Among them is the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, which debuted its BNB Chain in 2020.

American crypto exchange Coinbase is another example. It launched the layer-2 Base network in August 2023.

More recently, stablecoin issuers have joined the bandwagon. Circle announced on August 12th that it will soon launch its layer-1 blockchain, dubbed Arc. Last year, the leading stablecoin issuer Tether teased the possible development of a blockchain. However, plans for such was discarded in August 2024.

OKX Implements the PP Upgrade

OKX noted that it completed the PP Upgrade on August 5th. This upgrade has boosted the network’s throughput to 5,000 transactions per second (TPS). The crypto trading platform added that the upgrade has reduced the gas fee and on-chain security.

OKX explained that it will launch an incentive program to attract more project teams and developers to build on the X Layer.

The crypto exchange added that it would integrate the X Layer into its existing products, such as the OKX Wallet, OKX Exchange, and OKX Pay.

OKX will gradually sunset its operations on OKTChain. Starting today, all OKT transactions will halt on the crypto exchange. From August 15th, all OKT holdings will be automatically converted into OKB. On January 1st, 2026, OKTChain will officially shut down.

This means that the OKB token will become the sole token for the OKX ecosystem.

The sudden spotlight on the OKB token has fueled its rapid market growth to a peak value of nearly $140. At the time of writing, the token has rebalanced at a trading price of $113, a 145.26% increase over the past 24 hours.

The token’s daily traded volume has also increased to over $825.12 million at the time of writing, representing a 15,272% surge. Notably, this uptrend in 24-hour traded volume suggests that most OKT holders are readily migrating to the OKB ecosystem.

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