Bitget announces first BGB token burn, reducing supply by 40%

Bitget has unveiled a big update for its BGB token, with plans for ongoing quarterly repurchases and burns.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has announced updates to its Bitget Token (BGB) whitepaper, introducing new changes to its tokenomics.

According to a Friday announcement, Bitget will burn 800 million BGB tokens held by the core team, representing 40% of the total token supply. This burn will reduce the overall BGB supply to 1.2 billion tokens, with 100% of the remaining tokens in circulation.

Bitget plans to release on-chain records of the burn, the press release reads. Amid the news, BGB’s price soared 23% to $8.36, bringing the token’s market capitalization to $11.7 billion.

In addition to the initial burn, Bitget has committed to burning BGB every quarter by destroying 20% of its profits, which come from trading fees across Bitget’s services. The repurchased tokens will be sent to a burn address, the exchange said, promising to share the details of the burn after each quarterly event.

The update comes a day after Bitget announced it will merge its Bitget Wallet Token with BGB to create one ecosystem token for both the Bitget exchange and Bitget Wallet. Starting in 2025, the combined token will expand into off-chain payfi scenarios, allowing payments in places like restaurants, travel, fuel, and shopping, offering users a one-stop web3 and consumption service.

In addition, the company also announced on Dec. 27 an updated roadmap for the Bitget Wallet, in which BGB will become the primary token for multi-chain gas fee payments via its GetGase feature, set to being in January 2025.