The behind-the-scenes big winner of Unichain: The OP Stack ecosystem has generated over $40 million in revenue from 39 chains

Author: Grapefruit, ChainCatcher

Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher

While the crypto community is celebrating the launch of the Layer2 new network Unichain by DeFi leader Uniswap, it is Optimism, the silent supporter providing the key underlying technology, that is the true behind-the-scenes winner.

In the developer grant event announced by Uniswap on October 15, it stated that Unichain is a Layer2 new network built on OP Stack technology. As a part of the Superchain, Unichain developers can also receive additional rewards from the Optimism Collective Grants. This statement is undoubtedly a public endorsement of OP Stack technology and clearly expresses Uniswap's preference for OP Stack among various L2 Stacks development solutions (such as Arbitrum, zkSync, etc.).

The collaboration between the two not only indicates Uniswap's deep recognition of the strength of OP Stack technology but also introduces a strong ally to Optimism's Superchain ecosystem. As of October 17, the number of L2 or L3 chains built on OP Stack has risen to 39, bringing over $40 million in revenue to Optimism.

Uniswap's participation is undoubtedly a boon for Optimism. As a long-standing backbone in the DEX market, Uniswap's large user base and trading volume are likely to inject new vitality into Optimism's SuperChain ecosystem, opening up new revenue growth opportunities.

OP Stack Revenue Surpasses $40 Million, Trading Share in Layer2 Market Approximately 60%

OP Stack, as an open-source modular toolkit launched by Optimism for Layer2 networks, supports developers in assembling or customizing any Layer2 network according to their specific needs, thereby sharing the security and resources of the Ethereum network.

Since the Bedrock upgrade in June last year, Optimism has introduced the concept of Superchain for L2 networks built on OP Stack and renamed its previous Layer2 mainnet Optimism to OP Mainnet, merging with several other Layer2 networks based on OP Stack into a unified OP chain network, namely Superchain.

Within the SuperChain ecosystem, the underlying architecture of all chains is standardized, allowing resources and information to be shared through the Optimism Bridge. Users and developers can view all chains within the ecosystem as a single entity, the "Superchain," allowing developers to focus on creating applications aimed at the overall Superchain, while users do not need to consider cross-chain behaviors.

After Optimism and Base reached a revenue-sharing model in August last year, Base pays Optimism Collective 2.5% of the total revenue from the network sequencer or 15% of profits, whichever is higher; the Optimism Foundation will provide Base with 118 million OP tokens as incentives over the next six years. This model not only promotes a win-win situation for Optimism and Base but also sets a precedent for other Layer2 networks built on OP Stack.

Since then, every OP chain in the Optimism Superchain has adopted a standardized revenue-sharing model, requiring each chain to pay 15% of the total revenue from the on-chain sequencer or pure profits (specifically, total revenue minus fees submitted to L1), whichever is higher, to Optimism Collective.

As of October 16, the governance organization Optimism Collective has earned 15,673 ETH from Superchain, with a value exceeding $40 million.

Currently, the Superchain ecosystem has 39 blockchain networks based on OP Stack, including Coinbase's Layer2 network Base, Uniswap's new Layer2 Unichain, Sony's Soneium, Synthetix's application chain SNAXchain, Mode, the social application CyberConnect's L2 Cyber, Worldcoin chain, and more.

According to the latest data from Superchain Eco on October 13, OP Stack chains account for approximately 59.5% of all transactions in the entire Layer2 market. Last week, Superchain averaged 6.1 million transactions per day, accounting for 37% of all Layer2 market transactions, with over 5,300 developers deploying applications in the ecosystem.

Among these 39 OP Stack chains, the revenue from the OP Mainnet will be entirely managed by Optimism Collective, while the remaining 38 networks are required to submit 15% of the total revenue from the on-chain sequencer or pure profits at the higher standard, with Optimism Collective compiling the income situation of each OP chain monthly.

In terms of revenue, according to data from Superchain, as of October 17, Optimism Collective has earned 15,700 ETH (approximately $40.82 million), with the OP Mainnet contributing the most revenue at 12,775.25 ETH (approximately $33.21 million), accounting for 81.5% of the total revenue; followed by the Base network contributing 2,759.27 ETH (approximately $717,000), accounting for 17.6%, and then Zora, Mode, RaaS platform Conduit, and other networks.

With the rise of Base and the increase in trading volume of OP chain networks like Mint and Orderly, the revenue share contributed to Optimism Collective is also growing. In the latest October revenue of 244.9 ETH obtained by Optimism Collective, Base alone contributed 44.8% of the revenue, while other chains collectively contributed 13.8% of the revenue.

Is Optimism the Winner of Layer2?

Through a standardized and open-source OP Stack toolkit, Optimism has successfully built the Superchain ecosystem, providing developers with efficient access to Ethereum's underlying tools and technical support, while unlocking various complex application scenarios, including gaming and social applications. This open and vibrant ecosystem has attracted a large number of developers and projects, forming a strong network effect. As the number of projects built on OP Stack continues to increase, the ecosystem enters a virtuous cycle, and the revenue brought by the Superchain ecosystem also rises accordingly, with significant scale effects.

Through Superchain, Optimism has established its unique business model, currently having two clear revenue paths: one is the direct on-chain revenue from its Layer2 mainnet OP Mainnet; the other is the on-chain revenue sharing from the Superchain ecosystem composed of OP chains.

These two paths together constitute Optimism's unique competitive advantage in the L2 market, forming its distinctive business model compared to competitors like Arbitrum, StarkNet, and zkSync, with revenue performance standing out.

According to data from the Token Terminal data platform, in the past six months, Base has maintained the top position in the Layer2 market with $23.51 million in revenue, while Optimism's OP Mainnet follows closely in second place with $10.24 million in revenue. Although Arbitrum's TVL has long occupied the top position in the Layer2 market, its revenue is only $9.49 million, less than that of OP Mainnet. The revenues of zkSync and StarkNet are even more limited, at $1.84 million and $170,000, respectively.

In addition, apart from the revenue from the OP Mainnet, 2.5% of Base's revenue or 15% of profits will belong to Optimism. If calculated based on the 2.5% of revenue, the Optimism revenue would be: OP Mainnet + 2.5% of Base chain revenue, which means that in the past six months, Optimism will receive $587,000.

Moreover, in the future, every transaction occurring on OP Stack chains will ultimately funnel a portion into Optimism's pocket, continuously generating revenue for it. With heavyweight projects like Uniswap continuously joining, it can be anticipated that the revenue brought by OP Stack is expected to keep growing.