Optimism's Superchain: Leading the Ethereum Layer-2 Race
Optimism's Superchain is gaining traction in the Ethereum layer-2 race, attracting major projects with generous OP token grants and innovative technology.

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Optimism's Growing Influence
Optimism, a prominent layer-2 network, has successfully attracted numerous clients and firms to launch their own blockchains using its OP Stack technology. -
Incentives for Adoption
A key part of Optimism's strategy involves distributing significant amounts of OP tokens through grants. Officials within the ecosystem assert that these tokens are intended to help various projects initiate their development on the OP Stack. -
Early Days of Evaluation
Some members of the ecosystem believe it is premature to determine if the OP Stack has definitively won the layer-2 race.
The Rise of Blockchain in a Box
One of the significant trends in 2023 among leading Ethereum layer-2 projects was the concept of “blockchain in a box,” where teams encouraged developers to replicate their code to create new layer-2 networks. Currently, Optimism appears to be emerging as the clear leader in this space.
Optimism's OP Stack has enabled numerous clients, with Coinbase’s Base being the first major client last year. Recently, other projects like Uniswap, Sony, and Kraken have also announced plans to deploy new layer-2 networks utilizing the OP Stack.
This development is crucial for the broader blockchain ecosystem, as layer-2 networks play a vital role in enhancing transaction speed and reducing costs within the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum remains the leading smart-contract platform, facilitating decentralized exchanges and lending platforms. Layer-2 blockchains operate as auxiliary networks on top of Ethereum, allowing transactions to be executed swiftly and cost-effectively before being settled on the base chain.
Kraken's OP Token Grant
Kraken's partnership with Optimism included a substantial grant, providing 25 million OP tokens, valued at approximately $42.5 million. Kraken's new network is named "Ink."
While representatives from projects like World (formerly Worldcoin), Uniswap, and Sony declined to disclose the number of tokens they received, Kraken's Andrew Koller mentioned that other participants in the OP Stack also received significant allocations.
Optimism Foundation officials maintain that it is up to the projects to share the details of their grant amounts. The reluctance to disclose these figures raises questions about the influence of these grants in the partnerships.
Optimism's Treasury and Grant Distribution
As of September 30, there are about 841 million OP tokens allocated for funding projects, with around 480 million already committed. This leaves approximately 361 million OP tokens available, equating to nearly $480 million at the current OP token price of $1.32.
Smaller projects utilizing the OP Stack have also benefited from these tokens. For instance, Celo’s governance forum revealed it would receive up to 6.5 million OP tokens, while the Bitcoin-focused BOB project was negotiating for around 500,000 OP tokens.
The funding for BOB comes from a different grant source, managed by the Grants Council, which is part of Optimism's DAO. Projects can also apply for grants from the Retroactive Public Funding Goods (RPFG) bucket, which has nearly 860 million OP tokens available for rewarding impactful on-chain activities across Optimism and the Superchain.
Assessing the Layer-2 Race
The question remains whether Optimism has truly won the layer-2 race and how its grant strategy contributes to this outcome. An Optimism Foundation spokesperson stated that grants are intended to support projects and developers, with allocations based on achieving mutually agreed growth milestones that are beneficial for the entire community.
Has OP Stack Secured Its Position?
Ryan Wyatt, the chief growth officer of Optimism Foundation, expressed optimism about the growing adoption of OP Stack as the preferred choice for scaling layer-2 solutions. However, he noted that it is too soon to declare a definitive victory.
Despite a significant 65% decline in OP token prices this year, it has outperformed other major layer-2 tokens, such as Polygon's MATIC and Arbitrum's ARB, which fell 70% and 72%, respectively. Meanwhile, Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, ETH, has seen a modest increase of about 6% year-to-date.
Wyatt emphasized that while it may not yet be clear if OP Stack is the default choice for launching layer-2 solutions, there is a growing trend among large institutions to consider OP Stack for their projects.
Competitors' Strategies
Competitors like Offchain Labs, the firm behind Arbitrum, have adopted a different approach to attract users to their technology. Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, highlighted the difference between prioritizing announcements versus focusing on actual on-chain success and metrics.
Kraken’s decision to choose OP Stack was driven by the desire to maximize engineering resources effectively. Koller noted that the focus was on user experience and efficient resource management, rather than the complexities of managing a blockchain.
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