Posted:
- Optimism’s latest progress may be attributed to token incentives by numerous dApps on the protocol.
- Declining exercise, falling TVL, and worth volatility problem Optimism’s place within the L2 sector.
Optimism [OP], a distinguished layer 2 resolution within the crypto world, witnessed substantial progress lately, partly attributable to the token incentives launched on the protocol.
Is your portfolio inexperienced? Take a look at the OP Revenue Calculator
Extremely incentivized
Analyst Ryan Holloway highlighted the impression of OP’s incentive program, which led to the protocol’s cumulative buying and selling quantity exceeding $3.8 billion. The supply of OP buying and selling rewards and incentives on platforms like Synthetix, Kwenta, and PolynomialFi contributed considerably to this surge in utilization metrics.
Simply dropped an evaluation with @t__norm on the impression of @PolynomialFi‘s OP incentive program that in the end led to the protocol’s cumulative buying and selling quantity surpassing $3.8B
🧵 👇 pic.twitter.com/UahucTcVJ0
— Ryan Holloway (@raholloway) September 9, 2023
Whereas these incentives resulted in a outstanding 23-fold improve in buying and selling quantity, the expansion in each day merchants was comparatively modest, indicating a big rise in energy customers or potential wash buying and selling actions.
Wash buying and selling refers back to the follow of artificially inflating buying and selling quantity by repeatedly shopping for and promoting an asset to create a misunderstanding of demand and liquidity.
The sustainability of Polynomial’s retention charges after the motivation program concludes might be a vital consider figuring out its long-term impression on Optimism. It underscores the significance of fostering real, natural progress in rising protocols, quite than relying solely on incentivized buying and selling exercise.
State of Optimism
Regardless of this preliminary progress, latest information indicated a decline in exercise on Optimism. Income fell by 37.5% within the final month, and general exercise decreased by 19.7% over the identical interval.
Moreover, Optimism has struggled to achieve a foothold within the DeFi sector, which has contributed to its latest challenges. Artemis’ information revealed a big lower in whole worth locked and decentralized change volumes on the community in latest weeks.
The optimism protocol would want to enhance its state within the DeFi sector to have the ability to compete with different layer 2 options within the crypto sector.

Supply: Artemis
Practical or not, right here’s OP’s market cap in BTC’s phrases
The Optimism token OP has additionally skilled a decline in worth in latest weeks. When it comes to community progress, Optimism confronted a lower in exercise, suggesting that fewer new addresses have been becoming a member of the community. This might sign a waning curiosity within the protocol.
Conversely, velocity, or the velocity at which OP tokens have been being traded, skilled a big improve. Whereas this might sound constructive, it may point out extra speculative buying and selling quite than long-term adoption. It could possibly probably contribute to elevated volatility in OP token costs.

Supply: Santiment