Key Takeaways
Which Layer 2 is leading the ecosystem right now?
Arbitrum dominates with higher transactions, active users, bridgers, and over $2.7B in TVL.
Does Optimism still have a competitive path forward?
Yes—its Superchain adoption keeps expanding, positioning OP for a potential long-term comeback.
Ethereum’s [ETH] scalability concerns have accelerated the growth and rise of Layer 2 solutions. These bridges aim to increase throughput and reduce fees without compromising the network’s security capabilities.
Amid this rise, Arbitrum [ARB] and Optimism [OP] have emerged as top contenders. The two pivot themselves in different ways, whether it be the ecosystem, adoption, or usage patterns.
But which one of them is well-positioned to win the current Layer 2 war?
Optimism vs. Arbitrum: Network usage analysis
Because both Optimism and Arbitrum deploy similar mechanisms to scale transaction throughput, comparing growth metrics provides a clear picture.
For starters, when it comes to network activity, Arbitrum takes a commanding lead.
According to DefiLlama, Arbitrum boasts more than double the number of transactions — it has stabilized above 3 million, with rare drops to 2.9 million.
Source: DefiLlama
Interestingly, these transactions are backed by a solid number of active users. Inasmuch, the chain’s Active Addresses have remained above 200k for a long time, sitting at 206.5k at press time.
Source: Dune Analytics
Also, Arbitrum’s Total Number of Bridgers surged to 788.3k, with the Total Valued Bridged surpassed $5 million. This indicates massive network usage and adoption, with users moving from other assets to Arbitrum.
On the other hand, however, Optimism’s Network Activity lagged. According to Artemis data, the chain’s Daily Active Users have been declining steadily, at 34k at press time, up 4% MTD.
Source: Artemis
Likewise, the Number of Transactions reversed course after the market turned bearish — Transactions have dropped to 1.9 million from 2.3 million a week ago.
Finally, Optimsim’s Total Number of Bridgers was at 359.1k, with a Total Value Bridged of $1 million.
Source: Dune Analytics
These differences suggest that Arbitrum is way ahead of Optimism when it comes to transactions and active users.
Ecosystem stability and health
A look at the Total Value Locked, confirmed that Arbitrum was overwhelmingly ahead of its competitor. Per DefiLlama, Arbitrum’s TVL has settled at around $2.75 billion, down from $4.1 billion two weeks ago.
Source: DefiLlama
On the other hand, Optimism’s Total Value Locked has been in a freefall, hitting a low of $288 million at press time, per CoinGecko.
Such a high margin reflects strong confidence, liquidity, usage, and overall better financial stability. Therefore, in terms of ecosystem strength and health, Arbitrum has the upper hand.
Future catalysts for Optimism and Arbitrum
Though both the Layer 2 chains have taken different paths, they have equal aims of dictating future market direction.
For Optimism, its Superchain is the magic wand that has helped the chain expand into a broader ecosystem (OP Mainnet), enabling other chains to build on the OP stack.
Source: Superchain
Superchain has attracted other projects, such as Worldcoin [WLD], Coinbase, Zora, and Base. As a result, Superchain’s ecosystem has grown significantly, recording 20.5 million in transactions and $77 million in revenue.
For Arbitrium, the road to the future lies in institutional partnerships and RWA tokenization. For example, Arbitrum partnered with Robinhood to launch over 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in Europe.
For Arbitrum, its continued dominance depends on success in this field, while Optimism’s Superchain is key to bridging the gap.
Who’s winning the war?
For now, Arbitrum has a clear lead over Optimism. The chain boasts of a higher network activity, TVL, and Total Value Bridged.
However, all is not lost for Optimism; its Superchain is the light that could boost the chain and help it compete effectively with others.
Through partnerships with other chains to build on the OP stack, Optimism could put its solutions in front of a broad user base.