A quiet shift is underway for Bitget’s exchange token, BGB. It’s stepping off the sidelines, so to speak, and moving into a more central role on the Morph blockchain. This isn’t just a simple migration. It’s a strategic move that makes BGB the native gas and governance token for Morph, an Ethereum Layer 2 network.
- Bitget’s exchange token, BGB, is becoming the native gas and governance token for the Morph blockchain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network. This strategic move expands BGB’s utility beyond the Bitget exchange.
- Morph aims to be a consumer-oriented network, making dApps cheaper and faster for everyday users, with a focus on payment finance use cases.
- Bitget transferred 440 million BGB tokens to the Morph Foundation, with 220 million destroyed and the rest locked for gradual release to support the ecosystem and education. The long-term vision is to reduce the total BGB supply to 100 million tokens.
Think of it like a popular club’s membership card suddenly becoming the key to the entire building. BGB will still offer its familiar perks on the Bitget exchange, things like trading fee discounts and access to Launchpool projects. But now, it gains a whole new set of responsibilities and influence on a separate, growing blockchain.
This partnership, called an “exclusive strategic” one, aims to push BGB beyond its exchange origins. It wants BGB to live more fully on-chain, expanding its utility in ways that could change how users interact with it. For Morph, the appeal is clear: Bitget and Bitget Wallet together boast a user base of 120 million. That’s a ready-made audience for any new blockchain.
Morph isn’t just any Layer 2. It positions itself as a consumer-oriented network. Its goal is to make decentralized applications (dApps, those apps that run on a blockchain) cheaper and faster for everyday users. They’re talking about quicker settlement times and a push into “PayFi” use cases, which is a fancy way of saying payment finance, making crypto payments smoother and more accessible.
Currently, Morph holds about $18 million in total value locked (TVL), according to DefiLlama. TVL is a common metric in crypto, showing the total amount of assets deposited into a protocol or chain. It gives you a snapshot of how much capital is actively being used within that system.
The Tokenomics of Change
The mechanics of this shift are quite interesting. Bitget transferred a substantial 440 million BGB tokens to the Morph Foundation. To put that in perspective, those tokens were valued at roughly $2.3 billion at the time of the transfer. It’s a significant chunk of change, showing a serious commitment to this new direction.
Immediately after the transfer, 220 million of those tokens were destroyed. Poof, gone. The remaining 220 million are now locked up. These locked tokens will be released gradually, with a 2% unlock each month. This slow release is for a few key purposes: providing liquidity (making sure there are enough tokens for trading), supporting the ecosystem, and funding education initiatives. It’s a measured approach to integrate BGB into its new home.
The Morph Foundation isn’t just holding onto these tokens. It will also take over the BGB burn mechanics. This means future token reductions will be directly tied to activity on the Morph blockchain. The long-term vision is ambitious: shrinking the total BGB supply from 1.1 billion down to a lean 100 million tokens. Less supply, if demand stays steady or grows, often means more value per token. It’s basic economics, even in crypto.
For those who use BGB on Bitget and Bitget Wallet, don’t worry. Trading and existing utilities will continue to function as normal throughout this transition. The team made sure to clarify that point. It’s not an abrupt switch, but a gradual evolution.
Karry Cheung, the CEO of Bitget Wallet, spoke about future plans. He expects to see more collaborations between Morph and Bitget over the next year. He specifically mentioned an “acceleration of BGB migration onto Morph Layer” in the coming 12 months. This suggests a deepening relationship and a more integrated future for the token.
BGB’s Past and Future Footprint
BGB started its life as a utility token on Ethereum in 2021. Its main job was to power the Bitget exchange, offering those fee discounts, Launchpool access, and staking programs I mentioned earlier. Bitget has a history of managing its token supply actively.
The exchange has performed large token burns in the past. They also adopted a recurring buyback-and-burn policy, which means they use a portion of their revenue to buy BGB from the market and then destroy it. This policy was tied to activity on the exchange. Bitget had previously announced plans to cut the total supply by 40% through quarterly burns. This new move to Morph continues that tradition of supply management, but with a new on-chain twist.
The market’s initial reaction to this partnership was positive. BGB’s price rose by about 15% intraday after the news broke. It seems investors appreciated the expanded utility and the aggressive tokenomics strategy. A little upward movement is always a welcome sight for token holders, isn’t it?
It’s worth noting, as The Block (the source of this news) disclosed, that Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures also invests in other crypto companies. Bitget, in turn, is an anchor limited partner (LP) for Foresight Ventures. The Block states it operates independently to deliver objective information. It’s a small world, this crypto space, and sometimes the connections run deep.
This move by Bitget and Morph is more than just a token swap. It’s a bet on the future of Layer 2 solutions and the broadening utility of exchange tokens. It asks us to consider how these digital assets can grow beyond their initial purpose, finding new homes and new jobs in the wider blockchain ecosystem. What new applications might we see BGB power on Morph in the coming months?
