TL;DR
- Optimism surged 10–15% to $0.858 after Upbit announced KRW/BTC/USDT listings, going live today at 16:30 KST.
- Trading volume spiked 300–420% to $700M+, fueled by South Korea’s retail market dominance.
- Technicals turned bullish (RSI: 66.9; MACD crossover), with price targets at $1.49–$2.94.
Optimism (OP), the native token of Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solution, surged by 10–15% today, reaching a two-month high of $0.858. The rally mirrors gains in other top altcoins like PancakeSwap and Ethena. Still, OP’s leap stems from a game-changing catalyst: a listing on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange.
Upbit Listing Ignites Frenzy
Upbit announced it will list OP at 16:30 KST today (July 28), offering trading pairs in Korean Won (KRW), Bitcoin (BTC), and Tether (USDT). The news triggered an immediate 7.8% price spike within one hour, with trading volume exploding by 303–420% to over $700 million.
At the time of writing, OP is trading at $0.81, increasing more than 12%. Deposits were opened right away through the Optimism network, but Upbit put in place temporary safeguards:
- A 5-minute ban on buy orders post-launch.
- Restrictions on sell orders priced 10% below the last close.
- Limit-only orders for the first two hours to curb volatility.
South Korea’s crypto market dominance amplified the impact. Upbit’s low 0.05% KRW fees and massive user base drew instant retail and institutional demand.
Technical & Fundamental Tailwinds
The Upbit news synergized with bullish technical indicators:
- RSI rose to 66.9, approaching overbought levels but indicating strong momentum.
- MACD confirmed a bullish crossover, reinforcing upward traction.
- Price broke a descending trendline dating to late 2024, with $0.71 now acting as support.
Fundamentally, institutional interest grew after Hamilton Lane, a $956 billion asset manager, expanded its tokenized fund, SCOPE, to Optimism and Ethereum earlier this month.
Can OP Rally 100%? Analysts Weigh In
Traders now eye $1.00–$2.00 as realistic near-term targets. Analyst Daniel Ramsey identified a bullish falling wedge breakout on weekly charts, projecting:
- $1.49 (Initial Target)
- $1.97 (Mid-Term)
- $2.94 (Long-Term) 8
Longer-term forecasts are even bolder, with some predicting $5.00 by 2030. However, it’s important to be careful: 31.34 million OP tokens (1.79% of the total supply) will be unlocked on July 31, which could lead to selling pressure.
Risks and Support Levels
While momentum favors bulls, failure to hold $0.74–$0.71 could trigger corrections. Key supports include:
- $0.74 (Post-Spike Consolidation Zone)
- $0.68 (200-Day SMA Anchor) 310
Still, with Ethereum scaling demand rising and Optimism’s Total Value Locked (TVL) growing, OP’s utility-driven rally may have staying power.
