A16z Purchased $90 Million Worth of Optimism Tokens, OP Price Jumps 13.5%

As per the latest reports, venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has shown interest in Ethereum Layer-2 platform Optimism, purchasing a staggering $90 million worth of OP tokens. Defying the broader market downturn, the Optimism (OP) price has rallied by 13.5% in the last 24 hours, and currently trading at $2.65 with a market cap of $2.77 billion.

a16z Secretly Snaps Optimism Tokens

Interestingly, last month on March 7, the Optimism Foundation announced that it had sold around 19.5 million OP tokens, valued at nearly $90 million, to an undisclosed buyer. These tokens were sourced from a 30% pool of OP’s original treasury designated for the foundation’s initial operational budget.

Sources familiar with the matter told Unchained that the a16z’s purchase of OP tokens has happened under a two-year vesting period, amid strong developmental activity in the Optimism ecosystem, including the surge in usage of Optimism’s OP Stack.

Investors engaging in token vesting periods often secure discounted purchases compared to the token’s current trading price.

Optimism’s OP Stack product offers developers of Layer 2 blockchains the opportunity to utilize its open-source technology for deploying their mainnets. Recently, Optimism achieved a significant milestone when the developers of the Celo blockchain selected OP Stack to launch the blockchain’s highly anticipated Layer 2 solution.

Speaking on the development, one of the sources said: “It’s interesting. Optimism’s done pretty well. They’re still doing airdrops.”

Without mentioning a16z’s involvement in Optimism, a spokesperson for the Ethereum Layer-2 platform said: “We are thrilled with the energy and momentum that Optimism is getting and excited for what’s to come”.

Interestingly, a16z also holds an investment in crypto exchange Coinbase, which runs its own Layer-2 solution Base. Base and Optimism are potential rivals, with both attracting significant crypto projects to utilize their technology stacks.

OP Price Rally to Continue

The news of venture giant a16z buying Optimism tokens has garnered strong interest in the altcoin. Along with the OP price rallying over 13%, despite the broader market sell-off, the trading volumes have also surged by 90% all the way to $548 million.

Following the recent Bitcoin halving event, the OP discovered solid support around the $2 psychological threshold, establishing a local bottom. This support catalyzed a positive reversal, propelling the asset by 45% in two weeks to its current trading price of $2.63.

Currently, the coin price hints at a potential breakout from the overhead trendline. A daily candle closing above this resistance trendline would indicate a shift in market dynamics, favoring buyers. Subsequently, the post-breakout rally could propel the Optimism coin toward potential targets of $3.4, $4, and $4.78