- In a tumultuous year for the crypto market, Optimism (OP) has emerged as a robust Layer 2 (L2) solution, showing resilience and gaining significant traction.
- The Web3 gaming sector, marked by the entry of 76 new gaming-focused networks, remains attractive, and Optimism is poised to capitalize on this momentum.
In a year defined by crypto market uncertainty, Optimism (OP) has risen as a prominent Layer 2 (L2) solution, demonstrating resilience and garnering substantial traction. Amidst a renewed interest in the crypto market, Optimism is well-positioned for continued growth.
The OP Stack, Optimism’s standardized and open-source development stack, has experienced a surge in popularity. Particularly, the OP Stack framework has become the top choice for full-chain game developers, streamlining the development of production-ready Layer 2 blockchains similar to the OP Mainnet.
The Web3 gaming sector is witnessing strong expansion with new developments in the space. Despite the gaming projects’ market cap ranging from $4 billion to $7 billion in 2023, the sector remains attractive for developers.
The entry of 76 new gaming-focused networks, encompassing L1s, L2s, and appchains, throughout the year, indicates sustained growth and heightened interest. Optimism, driven by the popularity of gaming and the OP Stack, is likely to capitalize on this momentum.
Additionally, the Optimism protocol has demonstrated significant growth, marked by a 10% increase in network activity and a remarkable 46% rise in revenue. These positive performance indicators position Optimism as a promising contender in the evolving landscape of Layer 2 solutions.
While everyone is busy packing Christmas gifts, I keep reading research to stay well-positioned for 2024.
Here are 20 key insights from @Delphi_Digital‘s report “The Year Ahead for Gaming 2024” ↓ pic.twitter.com/JQwIQeNcMm
— Stacy Muur (@stacy_muur) December 24, 2023
The State of the Optimism OP Token
Analyzing the performance of the OP token, it was valued at $3.31, reflecting a slight decline of -2.85% in the last 24 hours. Despite a decrease in network growth, signaling a potential slowdown in new user interest, the token’s velocity experienced a surge, indicating increased trading activity around OP.
Additionally, the MVRV ratio for OP exhibited growth, indicating that addresses holding OP tokens were highly profitable. While this suggests potential gains for existing holders, it also raises considerations about the possibility of profit-taking actions in the future. These factors may impact the price of OP negatively, and there could be potential corrections in the future for OP.
The Optimism (OP) Layer 2 (L2) network is experiencing an upward trend with a new monthly high in daily transactions, reaching 512,770 in the last 30 days, reflecting a 42 percent increase. This surge is attributed to heightened user activity over the past seven days, with a 45 percent rise in the daily count of unique addresses facilitating transactions. On December 19, Optimism recorded a daily active address count of 77,470.
However, the network has seen an increase in gas fees, with users paying a year-to-date (YTD) high fee of $367,220 on December 18. Despite this, the substantial growth in user activities in November has positively impacted Optimism’s decentralized finance (DeFi) vertical, leading to a 7% increase in Total Value Locked (TVL), which currently stands at $838.77 million. Additionally, Optimism has benefited from the broader demand for L2 solutions throughout the year, contributing to a year-to-date surge of 65 percent according to DefiLlama.
