OKX, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has executed a substantial token burn of approximately 279 million OKB tokens, valued at over $26 billion, reducing the total supply to a fixed 21 million coins. This action follows a strategic upgrade to the X Layer protocol, which includes removing minting and manual burn functions from the OKB smart contract to permanently cap the token supply. The burn comprises tokens from historical buybacks and reserves accumulated since 2019, marking one of the largest on-chain token burns to date. Concurrently, OKX is phasing out the OKTChain and integrating OKB as the sole native token of the X Layer, with enhancements such as increased transaction throughput and lower gas fees. The announcement triggered a rapid surge in OKB's market price, which rose by up to 200% within hours, reaching an all-time high near $143 before a slight pullback. The upgrade also involves deeper integration with OKX Wallet, OKX Exchange, and OKX Pay, positioning OKB differently from typical exchange tokens by aligning its valuation more closely with public blockchain assets. This strategic move is seen as a significant development in OKX's efforts to expand its blockchain ecosystem and enhance the utility and scarcity of OKB.