Bitcoin News Today: OKX Cuts OKB Supply by 50% Sparking 217% Price Surge and 13000% Trading Volume Spike

OKX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has executed a one-time token burn of 65.26 million OKB, effectively cutting its total supply by over 50%. The burn, valued at approximately $7.6 billion, was drawn from OKX’s reserves and permanently removed the tokens from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible wallet address. The move caused OKB’s price to more than triple in the short term, spiking from $46 to $142 before settling at around $102. Trading volume also surged 13,000% to $723 million as traders reacted to the sudden supply shock. This action mirrors a similar deflationary strategy employed by Binance’s native token, BNB, which also undergoes regular burns to reduce supply and potentially boost value [1].

At the same time, Ethereum’s network activity has seen a notable increase, with daily transaction counts approaching a new all-time high of 1.9 million transactions in January 2024. Analysts attribute this growth to a combination of improved network capacity, rising ether prices, and reduced transaction costs. A key factor has been a 50% increase in Ethereum’s gas limit since March, which allows more transactions per block and alleviates congestion. This has made DeFi activity and stablecoin transfers more affordable, with stablecoin transfer costs now consistently below $1. Fidelity Digital Assets noted that DeFi currently leads in driving Ethereum transaction volume, highlighting its growing role in on-chain activity [1].

However, the rising interest in crypto tools has also exposed users to new forms of scams. A recent report by SentinelLABS revealed that over $1 million has been stolen from crypto users through malicious smart contracts masquerading as MEV trading bots. These scams used AI-generated YouTube videos and obfuscated Solidity code to deceive users into deploying contracts that drained funds to attacker-controlled wallets. The use of XOR obfuscation and large decimal-to-hex conversions further complicated tracing efforts. The attackers leveraged aged YouTube accounts and AI-generated avatars to build credibility and scale their operations [1].

In a significant development for Bitcoin's DeFi capabilities, the Babylon project has introduced trustless Bitcoin vaults through its $5 billion staking protocol. These vaults allow BTC holders to deposit their tokens without relying on centralized entities, using smart contracts to enforce rules and ensure security. Babylon’s vaults are designed to enable BTC to function as collateral in DeFi applications such as lending and stablecoin issuance. Users can also stake their BTC to support proof-of-stake networks and earn rewards in BABY, Babylon’s native token. The move aligns with the broader trend of integrating Bitcoin into the DeFi ecosystem, leveraging its substantial value to power cross-chain financial activities [1].

Source: [1] The Protocol: OKX Slashes Native Token Supply In Half Also: ETH Transaction Volume Climbs, Trading Bots Steal $1M From Users, and Babylon Trustless Bitcoin Vaults. (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/08/13/the-protocol-okx-slashes-native-token-supply-in-half)