Optimism published its Year 4 budget update and Year 5 outlook on Aug. 6, forecasting that circulating supply will reach 2.504 billion OP by April 2027.

That would equal 58.3% of the project’s reported 4.295 billion total supply.

The Foundation’s stated figures imply that approximately 343 million OP could enter circulation from May 2026 through April 2027. Optimism said in the official update that it had not requested a new token allocation and would continue working within the original distribution framework.

Optimism budget directs 200M OP toward its ecosystem

The Ecosystem Fund represents the largest listed Year 5 category, with 200 million OP forecast to enter circulation. Optimism also expects releases of 47.6 million OP for early core contributors, 15.3 million for investors and 10 million from the Governance Fund.

No OP circulation is forecast from airdrops or Retro Funding during the period. However, the figures are not final.

The Foundation described them as “directional estimates” that are “subject to adjustment” based on program performance and governance input.

The listed Year 5 categories total 272.9 million OP. Yet the increase from the reported 2.161 billion starting supply to the 2.504 billion target equals roughly 343 million. The post does not identify the remaining 70.1 million OP or reconcile that difference.

A second discrepancy also requires clarification. The budget post lists 2,160,975,703 circulating OP as of Aug. 6, while Optimism’s linked public tracker displayed 2,286,467,356 OP when accessed the same day. The post does not explain the difference of approximately 125.5 million OP.

Year 4 spending fell as broad incentives paused

Optimism said it made about 150 million OP in new commitments during Year 4, around one third below the 229.92 million committed in Year 3. Governance Fund tokens entering circulation fell 53% to 13.4 million, while Retro Funding releases declined 30% to 14.2 million.

No user airdrops occurred during the period. Retro Funding also paused after the final Season 7 mission payments. The Foundation said 777.6 million OP, or 90.5% of the program’s original allocation, remains available for possible future rewards.

Ecosystem Fund circulation rose 53% to 208.5 million OP. However, the Foundation said the increase did not represent equivalent new spending. It attributed most releases to previously approved partner grants reaching vesting dates or completing required milestones.

As previously reported in OP token unlock coverage, tokens entering circulation can increase available supply. However, an unlock does not establish that recipients will sell their tokens.

OP Enterprise becomes the main spending strategy

The Foundation said future deployment would concentrate on growing OP Mainnet and acquiring OP Enterprise customers. The institutional service launched in January with Fully Managed, Self Managed and OP Mainnet tiers for exchanges, payment businesses and financial institutions.

The strategy has produced agreements involving Bitpanda’s Vision Chain, Kraken-backed Ink and Dunamu’s GIWA Chain. Bitpanda plans to launch Vision Chain through the Fully Managed service, while Ink is scheduled to complete its Fully Managed transition in August.

As crypto.news reported in related GIWA Chain coverage, Upbit operator Dunamu selected the Self Managed tier. The structure allows Dunamu to operate the network while receiving support from Optimism.

Optimism also cited ether.fi’s deployment on OP Mainnet, reporting more than 70,000 active cards and $220 million in total value locked. Those figures come from the Foundation and should be treated as company-reported metrics.

Buybacks remain smaller than projected circulation

Optimism governance approved a 12-month program that directs 50% of eligible Superchain revenue toward monthly OP purchases. The budget update said the program had acquired more than nine million OP by Aug. 6.

As crypto.news reported in its OP buyback approval, governance approved the program in January. The first disclosed purchase used 95.8 ETH to acquire approximately 1.57 million OP.

The purchased tokens are held in the Collective treasury rather than permanently destroyed. The proposal leaves future governance to decide whether repurchased OP will be burned, used for ecosystem funding or assigned another function.

More than nine million OP in buybacks remains well below the 343 million circulation increase implied by the budget’s starting and ending figures. The comparison does not establish future price performance, because circulation, treasury holdings and market sales measure different token flows.

What happens next for OP supply

The Foundation will continue assessing spending against OP Mainnet growth and enterprise customer acquisition. It plans to publish its next annual budget update and Year 6 outlook by June 2027.

Before then, investors will need a reconciled supply schedule. The category forecasts, stated starting supply and live tracker currently produce different totals. Until Optimism provides further clarification, the 2.504 billion endpoint should be treated as a directional Foundation forecast rather than a fully reconciled unlock schedule.

Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings, commonly known as MARA, reported a sharp swing from profit to a large net loss in the second quarter of 2026, even as it achieved its highest quarterly Bitcoin production in more than a year. The company’s results underscore how tightly miners remain tied to Bitcoin’s market price—especially when the accounting reflects changes in the fair value of Bitcoin held on balance sheets.

In its Q2 2026 SEC Form 10-Q, MARA said it recorded a net loss of $611.3 million, or $1.60 per diluted share, compared with net income of $808.2 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025. According to the filing, MARA mined 2,422 Bitcoin in the quarter, up 3% year over year, but that increase was more than offset by a 28% decline in the average Bitcoin price.

Key takeaways

• MARA posted a $611.3 million Q2 net loss, with the decline largely attributed to changes in the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
• Bitcoin production rose to 2,422 BTC in Q2 2026, but the revenue impact was overwhelmed by a 28% drop in the average Bitcoin price.
• As of June 30, MARA held 35,577 Bitcoin valued at $2.1 billion, placing it fourth among public Bitcoin holders cited in the company’s reporting context.
• The company used the quarter to restructure its power portfolio and capital position, while pushing further into AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
• MARA is targeting at least two AI/HPC data center lease signings by year-end, alongside additional Texas and Ohio expansion plans.

Profit-to-loss driven by Bitcoin’s price and holding valuation

The headline shift in MARA’s second-quarter performance is stark: profit in Q2 2025 gave way to a net loss in Q2 2026. In its 10-Q, MARA attributes the swing primarily to the impact of Bitcoin price movement on the accounting value of Bitcoin it holds, rather than to a deterioration in mining output.

That distinction matters for how investors interpret miner fundamentals. Production volumes increased, but the company’s overall earnings were pressured by weaker realized economics tied to Bitcoin’s price environment. Put simply, even better operational throughput did not translate into higher net earnings when the fair-value effects and average pricing moved against the company.

During an earnings call on Thursday, MARA CFO Salman Khan said, according to the company’s remarks, that “Two things defined Q2 for MARA. Bitcoin prices created a challenging revenue environment [and] we used the quarter to fundamentally transform our power portfolio and capital structure.”

Higher output, weaker average price

MARA’s mining performance in Q2 2026 was comparatively strong on the operational side. The company mined 2,422 Bitcoin, about 3% more than the year-ago quarter. However, the average Bitcoin price fell 28% over the same comparison period, which directly undermined revenue tied to the mined BTC and other Bitcoin-linked line items.

This is a recurring tension in the miner model: when BTC prices move lower, output growth can be muted by pricing and valuation effects. MARA’s quarter illustrates that point—production strength alone was not enough to counteract the market-driven decline in average pricing.

Beyond the mining figures, the company’s Bitcoin balance sheet also remained significant. As of June 30, MARA reported total holdings of 35,577 Bitcoin with a total fair value of $2.1 billion, reflecting both continued treasury accumulation and the sensitivity of the financial statements to BTC valuation changes. In that snapshot, the company was described as the fourth-largest public Bitcoin holder after Strategy, Twenty One Capital and Metaplanet.

MARA presses ahead with AI and HPC infrastructure deals

While mining remains central to MARA’s business, the company continues to frame its longer-term growth around expanding computational infrastructure for AI and high-performance workloads. Earlier in 2026, it acquired a majority stake in Exaion SaS, which operates high-performance computing data centers and secure cloud and AI infrastructure.

MARA also moved to accelerate data center development through partnerships. In February, it announced a strategic partnership with Starwood Capital Group and Starwood Digital Ventures aimed at enabling conversion of select MARA sites to meet demand from “enterprise, hyperscale and AI customers.”

On Thursday, MARA reiterated that it is pursuing near-term commercial milestones tied to those plans. The company said it is targeting at least two AI/HPC lease signings by year-end. CEO Fred Thiel said, according to the earnings call, that lease discussions are progressing across multiple sites and that MARA remains confident it can sign at least two leases before year-end.

Texas land plans and Ohio energy acquisition expand the runway

MARA’s infrastructure buildout includes both new land and additional power resources. In July, the company agreed to acquire a 1,200-acre powered site in Matagorda County, Texas, with expected access to up to 2 gigawatts of grid capacity by April 2028. MARA said the site is intended for AI and HPC workloads as well as Bitcoin mining.

The company also continues to pursue power capacity through a pending acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power in Ohio. MARA described the $1.5 billion deal as a potential source of up to 600 megawatts of AI and critical-IT load over time, indicating that it views energy access as a key enabler for both traditional mining operations and new revenue streams linked to enterprise computing.

Mining still the core—AI described as a complement, not a replacement

In a shareholder letter released alongside its quarterly results, Thiel said that Bitcoin mining remains the foundation of MARA’s business and that the cash flow generated by mining will continue to support other investments.

He also pushed back on the notion that MARA is shifting away from mining. “Ultimately, we do not view Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure as competing businesses,” Thiel said, according to the letter. He further emphasized a capital allocation principle focused on deploying each megawatt into what he described as its highest-value application—sometimes mining in certain markets, and in others AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud, or enterprise computing.

For readers tracking MARA, the key question is how quickly these AI/HPC efforts can contribute stable cash flows that are less dependent on Bitcoin’s spot price. Near-term, the company’s targets—like at least two AI/HPC lease signings by year-end—will offer a clearer datapoint on whether the operational transformation hinted at in Q2 can translate into measurable commercial traction. Investors will also want to watch how future quarters reflect both mining output and the impact of Bitcoin price moves on the valuation of holdings, since that remains the dominant factor in the recent earnings swing.

Real-world assets are moving from the “issuance” phase into onchain utility, with activity on decentralized finance platforms increasingly tied to tokenized yield and collateral rather than general DeFi momentum. According to a joint report from CoinShares and Token Terminal released Thursday, RWA deposits across DeFi more than tripled year over year to $7.4 billion in Q2 2026, even as total DeFi deposits declined by about 15%.

CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said the split between rising RWA balances and weakening broader DeFi inflows points to demand rooted in functional use cases. In his view, when a category expands while its host ecosystem softens, it is typically because users want financial utility—not because market conditions are broadly improving.

Key takeaways

• RWA deposits in DeFi surged to $7.4 billion in Q2 2026, while overall DeFi deposits fell about 15% year over year.
• Yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products are currently the largest RWA categories used onchain, including Sky Protocol’s sUSDS and BlackRock’s BUIDL.
• RWA spot trading on decentralized exchanges rose about 220% year over year, even though overall DEX volumes dropped roughly 70%.
• Gold-backed tokens and yield-oriented dollar products are central to RWA activity, with traders responding to price moves and yield strategies.
• RWA exposure is extending into derivatives: RWA perpetual futures volumes have continued rising despite a broader slowdown, including on an RWA-focused platform built on Hyperliquid.

RWA deposits rise while DeFi liquidity contracts

The most notable signal in CoinShares and Token Terminal’s report is the divergence between RWA growth and the broader health of DeFi lending and staking liquidity. While total DeFi deposits fell by about 15% year over year, RWA deposits expanded sharply—more than tripling to $7.4 billion in Q2 2026.

This pattern matters because it suggests that RWA onboarding is not simply an extension of generalized risk appetite across crypto. If investors were responding mainly to a favorable overall market cycle, RWA and non-RWA flows would likely track each other more closely. Instead, the report frames RWA growth as being driven by “financial utility” such as collateral value, yield generation, and tradable access to real-world exposure.

CoinShares’ CEO characterized the dynamic as an asset class expanding through a downturn in its host ecosystem—an interpretation consistent with the report’s broader conclusion that RWAs are transitioning into a more durable role inside onchain markets.

Why yield-bearing tokens and Treasuries are winning

Within RWAs, the report identifies yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products as the dominant categories showing meaningful onchain usage. In Q2, Sky Protocol’s sUSDS led the category, giving holders exposure to a yield-generating version of its USDS stablecoin.

Tokenized Treasury funds are also highlighted as a major source of onchain collateral. The report points to BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) among the products being used in decentralized lending markets, where yield-generating assets can play a role in collateral strategies.

CoinShares and Token Terminal further suggest that the RWA landscape currently spans a broad yield spectrum. The report states that RWA products offer yields ranging from about 3.2% to 5.5%, with Treasury-oriented products toward the lower end of that range and higher-yield strategies carrying additional risks.

For investors and DeFi participants, the key takeaway is structural: tokenized Treasuries and yield-bearing stablecoins are not just “wrapped exposure,” but assets designed to plug into DeFi systems where liquidity, collateral management, and yield accounting can be operationally valuable—particularly when broader deposit trends are weakening.

Gold tokens and yield dollars power DEX activity

The report also describes where RWAs show up most clearly in day-to-day trading. On decentralized exchanges, gold-backed tokens and yield-bearing dollar products account for a large share of RWA trading activity.

CoinShares classifies gold-backed stablecoins such as Tether Gold (XAUt) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) as tokenized gold within its RWA reporting framework. The report indicates that these products generate significant trading volume as market participants trade around gold price swings, effectively turning gold exposure into an onchain, secondary-market instrument.

On the dollar side, yield-bearing products such as Ethena’s sUSDe are also described as contributing to RWA spot activity. While RWAs are often discussed in terms of long-horizon investment access, the report emphasizes how trading behavior on DEXs increasingly resembles active market participation—an important distinction from one-time minting and holding.

Supporting that view, the report notes that RWA spot trading volumes rose roughly 220% year over year. This occurred even while overall DEX volumes fell by about 70%, reinforcing the idea that RWAs are gaining traction as tradable assets with a growing secondary-market role, rather than riding broader DEX tailwinds.

RWAs are moving into leveraged derivatives

Beyond spot trading and lending collateral, the report highlights an expansion of RWA exposure into derivatives—particularly perpetual futures, where traders can take leveraged positions without owning the underlying tokenized asset.

RWA perpetual futures trading, the report says, has continued growing despite a broader slowdown in crypto-native derivatives markets. It points to an RWA-focused perpetual futures venue on tradeXYZ, built on Hyperliquid, where trading volume has increased by roughly 20 times since launch.

The report adds that activity has concentrated around commodities and equity index exposure, citing products tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, along with technology stocks. Open interest has also been rising, suggesting that participation is not limited to brief bursts of speculation.

For traders and market makers, this matters because derivatives liquidity can change how RWAs are priced and hedged across onchain markets. As leveraged instruments become more common, RWAs may attract a wider range of participants—though it also introduces additional risks typical of leverage and derivatives exposure.

What to watch next

With RWA deposits accelerating while broader DeFi deposits contract, the next question is whether this pattern persists beyond Q2 2026 and whether growth remains concentrated in yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasuries—or broadens further into other real-world categories. Traders and DeFi users should also watch how expanding derivatives access affects liquidity, hedging behavior, and the risk profile of onchain RWA strategies.