Optimism, Arbitrum tap new ATHs: Is 2024 the year of L2s?

• ARB’s value increased by 12% but OP hit its ATH a day before.
• Arbitrum’s TVL became the first to surpass $10 billion while Optimism remains the L2 with the highest market cap.

The price of the native tokens of Optimism [OP] and Arbitrum [ARB] reached new highs on the 2nd and 3rd of January respectively. At press time, ARB’s value was $1.92. OP, on the other hand, changed hands at $3.90.

OP’s price represents a 20.43% increase in the last seven days. But before the recent decline, the token value tapped $4.02, marking its highest value since launch.

L2s stay the course

However, Arbitrum’s case was different. Unlike, OP, the ARB token jumped by 12.24% in the last 24 hours. This increase led to its All-Time High (ATH) of $.1.96.

While the development would be good news to OP and ARB holders, it gives even more precedence to the other sentiment that Ethereum [ETH] alongside tokens linked to it, would have a great performance this year.

In a previous article, AMBCrypto explained how ETH started 2024 on a strong note. Another analysis highlighted the impact the altcoin would have on the tokens of its Layer-two (L2) projects, which seemed to be in play already.

But the price rise was not the only notable development, especially with Arbitrum. According to data from L2BEAT, Arbitrum’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has surpassed the $10 billion mark. Interestingly, this happened on the same day the ARB token hit its ATH.

The TVL increase represents a 15.55% jump in the last 24 hours. It is also proof that market players trust the Arbitrum protocol enough to lock in liquidity in anticipation of a better yield.

Source: L2BEAT

Though Optimism’s TVL also increased, it was far below Arbitrum. At press time, Optimism’s TVL was $6.37 billion. So, the jump in Arbitrum’s TVL means it has become the first L2 project to hit and cross the $10 billion milestone.

Arbitrum takes most, Optimism chooses one

In terms of Active Addresses, AMBCrypto’s evaluation of on-chain data showed that the metric fell on the 2nd of January. However, at press time, Optimism’s 24-hour active addresses had increased to 15,700.

The revival implied that crowd interaction with Optimism and speculation around its token has been significant. On Arbitrum’s side, Santiment revealed that the Active Addresses rose higher to 29,500.

Source: Santiment

It is noteworthy to mention that Vitalik Buterin’s comments about Arbitrum might have impacted the trust the project gained over the last few days. On the 27th of December, the Ethereum co-founder lauded the project for achieving all it took to become a stage 1 rollup.

Realistic or not, here’s ARB’s market cap in OP terms

At that time, ARB’s price rose by 22%. However, it does not seem like the enthusiasm around Optimism and Arbitrum will stop anytime soon. In 2024, there is a high chance that the market look more in the altcoins’ direction.

If this is the case, the likes of ARB and OP might benefit and hit new ATHs. However, it is important to mention that Optimism has a higher market cap than Arbitrum.