Crypto & Blockchain

What is OpenSwap Optimism Token (OPENX)? A Real-World Look at the Low-Liquidity Governance Coin

July 27, 2025 19 Comments By Kurt Marquardt

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OpenSwap Optimism Token, or OPENX, isn’t another big-name crypto. You won’t find it on Binance. You won’t see it trending on Twitter. It doesn’t have a million holders or a team of developers pushing out weekly updates. But it exists - quietly, barely trading, and mostly ignored. So why does it matter?

OPENX is the governance token for OpenSwap, a decentralized exchange built specifically for the Optimism Layer-2 blockchain. That means it’s not meant to compete with Uniswap or PancakeSwap. It’s meant to let a tiny group of users vote on changes to a tiny DEX that operates on one specific network. If you’re not already deep into Optimism, you probably don’t need OPENX. But if you are, it’s one of the few tools you can actually use there.

What OPENX Actually Does

OPENX gives holders the right to vote on protocol decisions. That includes things like:

Changing trading fees on OpenSwap
How the protocol’s treasury funds are spent
Upgrading smart contracts
Adding new token pairs

It’s not a currency you spend. It’s not a staking token that earns interest. It’s purely a voting key. And there are only 17 million of them - all of them already in circulation. No inflation. No new tokens being minted. That’s rare. Most tokens keep printing more, diluting your share. OPENX doesn’t.

The token runs as an ERC-20 on three chains: Optimism (its main home), Ethereum, and BNB Smart Chain. But here’s the catch - almost all the trading, voting, and activity happens on Optimism. The other chains are just backups. If you’re holding OPENX on BNB Chain, you’re not really using it. You’re just holding it.

The Numbers Don’t Lie - It’s Tiny

As of October 2023, OPENX had a market cap of just under $600,000. That’s less than the cost of a modest house in Boulder. Compare that to Uniswap’s UNI token, which sits around $3.5 billion. OPENX is 5,900 times smaller.

Its daily trading volume? Around $3,000 to $3,500. That’s not even enough to cover the gas fees for a single large trade on Ethereum. On CoinMarketCap, you’ll see it listed at $0.023. On Bitget, it’s $0.036. On Coinbase, $0.031. Why the difference? Because there’s no real market. No deep liquidity. No buyers and sellers matching up. Each exchange is basically its own isolated island.

And because of that, slippage is brutal. If you try to buy $100 worth of OPENX, you might end up paying $115 worth because the price jumps as you trade. One Reddit user reported a 15% slippage on a $500 trade. That’s not a glitch. That’s how it’s designed - or rather, how it’s broken.

Who Even Holds OPENX?

There are only about 1,842 unique wallets holding OPENX across all chains. That’s fewer than the number of people who attend a weekly meetup in Boulder. Uniswap has over 650,000 holders. OpenSwap’s Twitter has 2,843 followers. Uniswap has 1.1 million.

Who are these 1,842 people? Mostly retail traders who bought in early, hoping for a quick flip. Some are die-hard Optimism supporters who believe in the ecosystem’s future. A few might be developers or early contributors who got tokens as rewards. But there are no institutions. No venture funds. No DeFi protocols integrating it. No corporate wallets. It’s almost entirely speculative.

And here’s the sad part: the token has lost 87% of its value since its all-time high of $0.18 in mid-2022. It’s not crashing. It’s just fading. Slowly. Quietly. Like a candle running out of wax.

An alebrije-style fox wallet entering a contract address on a cracked tablet, surrounded by tokens of low volume and loss.

The Real Problem: No One’s Building Anything

OpenSwap’s GitHub repo hasn’t had a meaningful update since March 2023. No new features. No roadmap announcements. No team updates. No blog posts. The official Discord server has 327 members. The average response time to a support question? Three days.

Compare that to Velodrome, another Optimism-based DEX, which announced a V2 upgrade with concentrated liquidity - a feature that directly improves trading efficiency. OpenSwap? Silence.

Industry analysts have called OPENX a “prime example” of a token at risk of collapse. Delphi Digital predicts that single-chain governance tokens with no growth plan have a 75% chance of dying within 18 months. OPENX fits that profile perfectly.

Can You Even Trade It?

Technically, yes. But it’s a pain.

To buy OPENX, you need to:

Set up MetaMask and add the Optimism network (chain ID 10)
Get some OP or ETH to pay for gas
Find a DEX that lists OPENX (like OpenSwap itself or a small aggregator)
Manually enter the contract address (0xc3864f98f2a61A7cAeb95b039D031b4E2f55e0e9 on Optimism)
Set slippage tolerance to 10-15% or higher
Hope your transaction doesn’t fail
Pay extra gas if it does (because failed trades still cost you)

CryptoSlate tested this process. Experienced DeFi users took 12 minutes to complete their first trade. Beginners? They gave up. Even experienced traders report 63% of first attempts fail because the slippage was too low or the gas price was wrong.

And forget about selling. If you try to cash out, you might not find a buyer. Or you’ll get crushed by the spread. One Coinbase user wrote: “Good luck actually trading it without massive slippage.” That’s the consensus.

A lone alebrije creature sits atop an abandoned voting booth made of Ethereum blocks, surrounded by fading roadmaps and dead code vines.

Why Does OPENX Still Exist?

Because Optimism is growing.

The Optimism ecosystem has $1.2 billion locked in DeFi protocols. That’s real money. Real activity. Real users. And OPENX is the only governance token tied directly to that chain - even if it’s barely used.

Some analysts see it as a “case study in specialization.” Unlike UNI, which tries to govern a multi-chain empire and ends up spread too thin, OPENX is laser-focused. If OpenSwap ever gets traction - if it adds new features, attracts real users, or partners with other Optimism apps - then OPENX could become valuable. But right now? It’s a ghost town with a voting booth.

Is OPENX Worth It?

If you’re a speculator looking to get rich? No. The odds are stacked against you. The liquidity is too thin. The volume is too low. The risk of losing your entire position is high.

If you’re a DeFi enthusiast who believes in Optimism and wants to participate in its governance? Maybe. But only if you’re prepared for the friction. You’ll need to spend time learning, pay extra gas, accept that your votes might not matter, and accept that the token could go to zero.

If you’re just curious? You can buy a few dollars’ worth. It costs less than a coffee. You’ll own a piece of a tiny experiment in blockchain governance. But don’t expect returns. Don’t expect support. Don’t expect updates.

OPENX isn’t a coin. It’s a footnote. And right now, it’s a footnote in a growing book - but no one’s sure if the book will ever be finished.

What is OPENX used for?

OPENX is a governance token for the OpenSwap decentralized exchange on the Optimism Layer-2 blockchain. It allows holders to vote on protocol changes like fee structures, treasury spending, and smart contract upgrades. It’s not meant for spending, staking, or trading - only for voting.

Where can I buy OPENX?

OPENX is only available on decentralized exchanges like OpenSwap itself and a few small aggregators. It’s not listed on Binance, Coinbase Pro, or any major centralized exchange. You need to use MetaMask connected to the Optimism network and manually input the contract address to trade it.

Why is OPENX so cheap?

OPENX is cheap because it has almost no liquidity. Daily trading volume is under $4,000, and there are very few buyers and sellers. With only 1,842 holders and no institutional interest, demand is minimal. Its price reflects its lack of utility and adoption, not its potential.

Is OPENX a good investment?

No, not as an investment. OPENX has lost 87% of its value since its peak. It’s highly volatile, illiquid, and lacks development activity. The only reason to hold it is if you want to vote on OpenSwap’s future - and even then, participation is likely very low. Don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose.

Can I stake OPENX to earn rewards?

No, OPENX does not have staking or yield farming features. It’s purely a governance token. There are no rewards for holding it, no interest, and no liquidity mining programs. Any site claiming to offer staking for OPENX is likely a scam.

Why doesn’t OpenSwap update its protocol?

There’s no public explanation. The GitHub repo hasn’t had meaningful updates since March 2023. The team hasn’t posted roadmaps, announcements, or progress reports. The lack of development suggests either a lack of funding, interest, or both. Without updates, the protocol can’t compete with other Optimism DEXs like Velodrome or Camelot.

Is OPENX safe to use?

The smart contract has been audited and is live on-chain, so it’s not a scam. But safety isn’t just about code - it’s about usability. Trading OPENX is risky due to high slippage, failed transactions, and lack of support. If you’re not experienced with DeFi, you’re likely to lose money on gas fees alone.

About the author

Kurt Marquardt

I'm a blockchain analyst and educator based in Boulder, where I research crypto networks and on-chain data. I consult startups on token economics and security best practices. I write practical guides on coins and market breakdowns with a focus on exchanges and airdrop strategies. My mission is to make complex crypto concepts usable for everyday investors.