TLDR
Arbitrum and Base led Layer 2 usage this week, with ethereum/">Optimism and zkSync notable for DeFi and ZK activity.
- Arbitrum (ARB): analysts highlighted peak inflows and very high weekly transactions, pointing to usage leadership on L2s social post.
- Base: reported as leading L2 growth in TVL this week, aided by distribution and consumer apps research note.
- Optimism and zkSync: active week, with OP-stack adoption and ZK rollup proving costs shaping throughput and fees ZK analysis.
Deep Dive
1. Arbitrum Lead
Arbitrum was repeatedly cited as the top L2 by activity this week.
- Analysts pointed to highest recent inflows and an all-time-high range in weekly transactions for ARB, consistent with strong daily user engagement social post.
- Additional commentary highlighted large daily active wallets on Arbitrum as evidence of habit layer usage rather than short-term hype social post.
- Ethereum L1 also hit record network activity, with L2s settling large volumes back to mainnet, providing context for rising L2 throughput market update.
If your lens is transactions and daily users, Arbitrum looked strongest this week; check whether depth and fee conditions remain favorable on major ARB dApps.
2. Base Momentum
By TVL growth, Base continued to screen well among L2s this week.
- An end-of-year research summary called out Base as the L2 leader in TVL growth, benefiting from Coinbase distribution and consumer-facing applications research note.
- Ethereum L1s rising capacity and blob space support lower settlement costs, which helps consumer L2s like Base scale activity without fee spikes market update.
If your lens is capital concentration and consumer adoption, Base looked strong; cross-check app-level activity (bridges, swaps, social apps) for sustained usage.
3. Optimism and zkSync Activity
Optimism usage and zkSync progress were notable, though ZK proving costs still shape economics.
- OP-stack adoption was visible at app level (bridge ? swap ? deposit flows and curated DeFi usage), signaling practical throughput on Optimism infrastructure social post.
- ZK rollups (zkSync, Starknet) saw ongoing engineering focus; proving dominates fees today, centralizing cost drivers and constraining sub-cent transactions despite cheap data and execution ZK analysis.
If your lens is technology path and fee structure, OP-stack usage looks steady; ZK L2s could inflect when proving costs fall and decentralize, potentially changing their usage rankings.
Conclusion
On this weeks setup, Arbitrum and Base led by practical usage lenses (transactions/users and TVL growth). Optimism and zkSync remained active, with ZK cost dynamics still important for throughput and user fees. Leadership can vary by metric (transactions, DAUs, TVL, fee capture), so verify with chain dashboards before acting.
Confidence: moderate because Arbitrums leadership evidence this week is primarily social analyst commentary; quickly validate with L2 analytics dashboards for transactions, DAUs, and TVL.
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