At the beginning of this week, there was a decrease in the overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies from 1.6 trillion dollars to 1.5 trillion dollars; this could indicate a daily drop of over 5%. This retreat in the market also affected the native token of the Ethereum-based Layer-2 Optimistic Rollup network, OP.
Positive Developments in Optimism
Despite the broader market downturn, OP experienced a weekly loss of over 20%. Nevertheless, a significant number of token holders maintained their profitable positions. According to the latest analysis by Intotheblock, more than 80% of OP token holders fall into this category. Such a trend is seen positively for the cryptocurrency and could demonstrate the resilience of long-term investors who guide the market through its volatility. This could also underline investors’ confidence in sustainable growth in the future.
The Layer 2 scaling solution, closely following its competitor Arbitrum, witnessed significant growth last year. A major turning point for Optimism was the implementation of the Bedrock hard fork on June 6 of the previous year. The Bedrock upgrade was part of a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at creating a “Superchain” consisting of multiple blockchain networks sharing the same software for enhanced security and interoperability.
Volume Rising in OP
The primary goals of the Bedrock upgrade were to increase the network’s security while reducing deposit times and fees. Following the hard fork, there was a notable increase in Optimism transactions, and the volume followed suit. A deeper look at Intotheblock’s data shows that Optimism has recorded a significant number of large transactions in recent weeks. This figure rose to 421 on January 12, a level not seen for almost a year. Additionally, the total number of addresses holding some balance surpassed one million for the first time.
In the last three months, the rate of consistent new address creation remained above 1,34 thousand. This increasing user activity could present a positive and upward-looking outlook. A similar trend is observed on the network side, with Optimism’s increasing development activity reflected in its entry into the top 10 crypto assets with notable GitHub commitments in December.
