Since The Merge, Ethereum’s onchain fees have been considerably lower. However, combined transaction volume on layer two (L2) chains Arbitrum and Optimism has outpaced Ethereum’s onchain transaction output. On Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, Ethereum processed 1.10 million onchain transactions, while combined transactions on Arbitrum and Optimism reached 1.32 million for the same day.
Rise of L2 Scaling Solutions Arbitrum and Optimism
Onchain transaction fees have decreased significantly since the first week of Aug. 2022 and even more so since the blockchain transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network on Sept. 15, 2022. Data from etherscan.io’s gas tracker shows that the highest priority onchain ether transaction costs an estimated $0.75 or 23 gwei on Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
According to Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 data, the average Arbitrum transaction costs around $0.101 per transfer, while an Optimism transaction costs $0.1410 per transfer. L2 scaling solutions have become increasingly popular since 2020, with options such as Polygon Hermez, Zksync, Boba, and Starknet, in addition to Optimism and Arbitrum.
Transactions per day for Optimism, Arbitrum, and Ethereum with data recorded on Jan. 14, 2023.
These solutions allow for faster and cheaper transactions by reducing the computational workload on the main blockchain network (Ethereum), or layer one (L1). Arbitrum and Optimism transactions are periodically “rolled up” and recorded on Ethereum using an optimistic rollup or optimistic virtual machine. Dune Analytics statistics show that both L2 networks, Arbitrum and Optimism, have seen a significant increase in daily transactions.
For example, Optimism recorded 737,191 transactions on Jan. 14, and Arbitrum captured 586,745 transactions on the same day. Since Jan. 10, 2023, the combined number of transactions on both Arbitrum and Optimism has surpassed the number of direct Ethereum onchain transfers. For…
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