Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
OKB: From OKX Exchange Token to the Gas of X Layer
Its supply was fixed at 21 million coins in 2025
OKB is the token issued in 2018 by the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, formerly OKEx. It began as a fee-discount token, and after a 2025 overhaul it has become the main fuel of X Layer, OKX’s Ethereum layer-2 network.
1. An exchange token from OKX
OKX grew out of OKCoin, founded in 2013 by Star Xu; its international exchange opened as OKEx in 2017 and was renamed OKX in 2022. OKB was issued in 2018 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and is a classic ‘exchange token’, created and managed by the exchange itself.
OKB’s main uses are inside OKX: trading-fee discounts, access to token distribution events (Jumpstart) and membership benefits. OKX has also promoted OKB as the base coin of its blockchain ecosystem, which once included a separate chain, OKTChain (OKC), with its own coin, OKT.
2. The 2025 overhaul: burn and fixed supply
For years OKX used part of its revenue to buy back and burn OKB. In August 2025 it burned about 65 million OKB at once, covering past buybacks and reserves, and upgraded the contract so no new tokens can be minted, fixing the total supply at 21 million. The figure matches Bitcoin’s cap.
In the same overhaul OKX began retiring OKTChain and converting OKT into OKB. OKB thus became the gas token of X Layer, merging the roles of exchange-perk token and chain fuel in one coin.
3. X Layer and where OKB is used
X Layer is an Ethereum layer-2 network (one that records its data on Ethereum) that OKX launched in 2024, first built as a zero-knowledge (ZK) chain with Polygon’s development kit (CDK). It is designed to connect directly to the OKX exchange and wallet, acting as a bridge for exchange users into on-chain apps, where they pay fees in OKB.
OKB still exists as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and can be bridged between Ethereum and X Layer. On the Crypto Nation map, OKB stands in Ethereum City (the capital), because CoinGecko lists Ethereum as the token’s first chain. The map places coins by home chain, wherever they are used.
4. Things to know: one exchange, many rules
An exchange token’s uses and burn policy are set mainly by its issuer, so the exchange’s business decisions and health affect it directly. The fixed supply and the large burn were company decisions, not votes by holders, and perks can change with company policy.
In February 2025 OKX pleaded guilty in the United States to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and agreed to pay more than 500 million dollars in penalties and forfeiture. Regulation differs by country and changes often, so exchange tokens carry their issuer’s regulatory risk. A layer-2 run by one company also concentrates transaction ordering in that company’s hands.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.