Scaling the Ethereum network is an ongoing challenge for developers and users alike. Until the long-awaited ETH 2.0 upgrade goes live, there will be very little improvement. However, in recent weeks, the layer-2 scaling solutions embracing Optismistic Rollup technology tend to gain tremendous attention and TVL.
Arbitrum (41.49% market share)
It is safe to say that Arbitrum is the most noteworthy layer-2 Optismistic Rollup scaling solution on the Ethereum blockchain today. It has tremendous TVL – $2.45 billion – and represents 41.49% of the Layer-2 market share. Although its TVL has decreased somewhat this week, it is also the most prominent Optismistic Rollup layer today.
The overall experience is very similar to using Ethereum directly, but without paying an arm and a leg for transaction fees. More importantly, the layer lends itself to a universal approach, allowing hundreds of projects to integrate with ease.
Boba Network (15.03% market share)
The second-highest Optimistic Rollup Layer-2 solution in the TVL rankings is Boba Network. With $889 million in liquidity, the ecosystem still easily beats most competitors. However, that TVL mainly comprises BOBA and OMG tokens rather than other assets, which is worth considering. Moreover, a weekly TVL drop of over 35% is rather steep.
Boba Network will help users achieve lower gas fees and higher transaction throughput. It can also extend the capabilities of smart contracts, which may be of great appeal to developers worldwide. The public mainnet went live in late September 2021, indicating more future growth may be ahead.
Optimism (7.16% market share)
In theory, the Optimism L2 solution should have the highest Total Value Locked of all Optimistic Rollups today. Unfortunately, the reality is very different, as Optimism only ranks fifth overall. It has $423 million in TVL, which is much lower than one might expect. Additionally, the recent 13% decline will not help matters much, although it is primarily due to a crypto bear market.
One aspect holding Optimism back a bit is how only whitelisted contracts can be deployed. That makes it very difficult for new projects to tap this scaling solution. However, building a new fraud-proof system is never easy and will take substantial time. Interestingly, neither Ethereum nor stablecoins are the main liquidity on Optimism today.
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