TLDR
Short answer: clear, verifiable user gains by specific L2s are not broadly reported this week. Proxies show mixed engagement with pockets of strength.
- Ethereum L2 perps usage is strong: Lighter reports 50,000 daily active users and 188,000 unique accounts on its L2 DEX, suggesting rising activity on that stack (report).
- Sector recap shows divergence: L2s fell overall, but Optimism (OP), Arbitrum (ARB), and zkSync (ZK) posted positive momentum this week, a proxy for rising engagement in those ecosystems (market wrap).
- Base (BASE) SocialFi flows are choppy: DAUs in flagship SocialFi apps peaked previously then faded, indicating volatile demand rather than steady new users (analysis).
Deep Dive
1. Perps Activity On Ethereum L2
The clearest users rising signal this week is in perpetuals DEX activity on Ethereum L2. Lighter reports 188,000 unique accounts and roughly 50,000 daily active users, paired with high weekly volumesevidence that on-chain perps are onboarding users quickly on L2 infrastructure (sector rundown).
Two notes temper this: incentives and airdrops can temporarily inflate DAUs and volumes, and post-airdrop activity often retraces. Recent coverage also flagged airdrop-related volume dynamics across leading perps venues (weekly briefing).
If you treat perps DAU as an L2 engagement proxy, Ethereum L2 stacks hosting major DEXs look strongbut retention beyond incentives is the key test.
2. Divergence Across L2 Names
Weekly sector performance shows L2s down overall, but with sharp splits: Mantle (MNT) and Zora lagged, while OP, ARB, and ZK posted double?digit gains, a sign that attention and on?chain participation likely concentrated in those ecosystems, even as the broader L2 basket softened (market wrap).
Price momentum isnt the same as user gains, but in crypto it often correlates with short?term activity (new addresses, transactions, and app usage). This weeks divergence suggests rotating engagement rather than uniform growth across L2s.
For a research watchlist, prioritize OP, ARB, and ZK ecosystem signals (new app launches, fee changes, liquidity incentives) over the basket, and verify with dashboards before acting.
3. Base SocialFi Volatility
Base continues to be a home for creator and SocialFi experiments, but this weeks coverage emphasizes volatility rather than sustained new user additions. Flagship SocialFi app DAUs peaked near 80,000%%CKPROTECTED2%% historically, then slid below 10,000%%CKPROTECTED4%%, highlighting the challenge of durable user growth even when attention spikes (analysis).
The takeaway is that users gained can be transient when driven by specific drops or creator events without sticky utility.
Treat Bases user additions as episodic. If your lens is durable growth, look for apps with steady daily interactions beyond one?off incentives.
Conclusion
No single L2 shows confirmed, broad?based user growth across the board this week. Engagement proxies point to strong perps activity on Ethereum L2 stacks (Lighter), while OP, ARB, and ZK show positive momentum even as the wider L2 sector dipped. SocialFi on Base looks episodic rather than steadily growing.
Confidence: low because mainstream reporting this week emphasizes sector performance and app engagement proxies rather than hard, chain?level weekly user counts. Verify with on?chain dashboards (active addresses, transactions per L2) before decisions.
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