Bitget Upgrades BGB to Native Morph Token

Bitget has announced the upgrade of its exchange token BGB to function as the native asset for the Morph blockchain, a Layer 2 solution on Ethereum. This initiative will see BGB serve dual purposes: as a gas and governance token, while maintaining its existing benefits such as fee discounts and access to Launchpool. This strategic partnership aims to increase the on-chain presence of BGB and broaden its applications beyond the exchange. Morph emphasizes the potential of Bitget, along with Bitget Wallet's 120 million users, as a significant distribution channel, promising enhancements in performance, faster settlement, and advancements in consumer-focused 'PayFi' solutions. Morph is positioned as a Layer 2 network tailored for consumers, focusing on minimizing costs and expediting transactions for decentralized applications designed for retail users. Currently, Morph has approximately $18 million total value locked, according to DefiLlama data. As part of this transition, 440 million BGB tokens, valued at about $2.3 billion and managed by Bitget, were allocated to the Morph Foundation. Out of this amount, 220 million tokens were destroyed immediately, and another 220 million will be gradually unlocked at a rate of 2% per month, designated for liquidity, ecosystem development, and educational initiatives, as per the exchange's announcement. Additionally, the Morph Foundation will adjust the mechanics of BGB token burns to tie reductions to on-chain activity, with a long-term goal of reducing the total supply from 1.1 billion to 100 million tokens. Trading of BGB on Bitget and within the Bitget Wallet will proceed uninterrupted during this transition. Karry Cheung, CEO of Bitget Wallet, expressed enthusiasm for further collaborations between Bitget and Morph over the upcoming year, stating, "We anticipate an acceleration of BGB's integration into the Morph Layer and deeper partnerships in the next 12 months." BGB, described by Bitget as a utility token launched in 2021 on Ethereum, currently supports trading fee discounts, Launchpool access, and staking initiatives. The exchange has historically engaged in significant token burns and has implemented a buyback-and-burn strategy that is responsive to trading activity, with a commitment to reducing the total token supply by 40% through quarterly burns. Following the announcement of this partnership with Morph, the price reaction was favorable, with BGB seeing an approximate 15% rise during the day, according to price data from The Block. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet providing news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is the primary investor in The Block, which continues to operate independently to deliver unbiased, meaningful, and timely insights about the crypto industry. For our current financial disclosures, please refer to our website. © 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.