tl;dr
Optimism (OP), the native token of the Optimism Layer-2 Ethereum scaling network, surged to a two-month high following its listing on South Korea’s Upbit exchange. OP began trading against KRW, BTC, and USDT on July 28, with deposits and withdrawals activated shortly after. The token’s price rose ab...
Optimism (OP), the native token of the Optimism network—a Layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution—reached a two-month high during Asian trading hours. This surge followed Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announcing the listing of OP on its spot trading platform.
Upbit revealed that OP would be available for trading against Korean Won (KRW), Bitcoin (BTC), and Tether (USDT), starting at 16:30 Korean Standard Time on July 28. Deposits and withdrawals commenced within two hours of the announcement. The exchange emphasized using the official OP-Optimism network for deposits, cautioning that deposits from unsupported networks or non-listed exchanges might face processing delays or long return times to comply with the Travel Rule.
The market responded swiftly, pushing OP’s price up by around 15%, from $0.740 to a peak of $0.858—the highest since mid-May. Though the price later retraced slightly, it maintained a 7.10% gain, trading at $0.80 at the time of writing. Trading volume also surged impressively by 309.90%, reaching $520.8 million, highlighting strong investor interest and heightened activity.
Upbit’s impact on token prices is well-documented, with past listings propelling tokens like Maple Finance (SYRUP), Caldera (ERA), and Ethena (ENA) into notable price rallies. Market analysts are now optimistic about OP’s future. Daniel Ramsey pointed out a bullish breakout from a falling wedge pattern on the weekly chart, forecasting significant upward momentum with price targets at $1.490, $1.970, and $2.940. Another analyst predicted that OP could eventually hit $5, underscoring a bullish long-term outlook.
Despite these positive signals, a potential short-term price dip may occur due to a scheduled token unlock. Tokenomist data shows that 31.34 million OP tokens—about 1.79% of the circulating supply—will be released on July 31. Such unlock events often increase selling pressure as newly available tokens enter the market, which could temporarily weigh on the token’s price depending on overall market demand and sentiment.