Arbitrum and Optimism saw notable transaction increases this year.
Arbitrum’s transactions peaked at 2.6 million in June.
Both platforms’ Total Value Locked (TVL) decreased despite transaction growth.
Two important Layer-2 solutions of Ethereum, Arbitrum (ARB) and Optimism (OP), experienced a significant increase in transaction activities this year. According to IntoTheBlock data, the transaction volume on both networks quadrupled over the past year. This increase became particularly evident in the second quarter following the integration of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. EIP-4844 aimed to enhance Ethereum’s scalability by introducing a new transaction type that processes data more efficiently.
Arbitrum and Optimism Transaction Volumes
Growthepie’s analysis showed that Arbitrum recorded greater growth compared to Optimism since the beginning of the year. Initially, ARB transactions were below 1 million, but after March, the number of transactions increased, peaking at approximately 2.6 million transactions on June 26.
In contrast, Optimism experienced a surge in early April with transactions exceeding 800,000. However, it has since seen a significant decline. Currently, ARB conducts over 1.5 million transactions, while Optimism’s transaction count has dropped to over 409,000.
Decrease in Total Value Locked (TVL)
Despite this increase in transaction volumes, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on both platforms has decreased. According to DeFiLlama data, Arbitrum’s TVL surpassed $3.1 billion in March, indicating significant adoption and investment. However, recent figures show that the TVL has dropped to approximately $2.7 billion.
Similarly, Optimism‘s TVL exceeded the $1 billion mark in March but has since dropped to around $665 million. These declines may be due to changes in investor sentiment, broader market conditions, or specific events within the Layer-2 networks.
Decline in ARB and OP Prices
Both ARB and OP tokens have shown a downward trend in value. Accordingly, OP‘s price faced strong resistance at the $2.2 level. As of the time of writing, OP showed a modest increase of less than 1%, trading at approximately $1.7.
Similarly, ARB solidified its resistance level around $1. Currently, ARB is trading at approximately $0.7 with a slight increase of less than 1%. The inability of both cryptocurrencies to meet expectations has led to investor frustration and a loss of confidence in the projects, as reflected in their price levels.