Introduction

Optimism is a Layer 2 blockchain built on top of L1 mainnet Ethereum. Although inextricably intertwined with its L1, as an L2 Optimism promises much cheaper and faster transactions (read more in docs). With these promises, how well has it attracted users, and what has user activity been like on Optimism compared to L1? This article aims to enhance the understanding of Optimism user behavior, specifically zooming in on swaps.

Methodology

This dashboard examines the behavior of swapping users on Optimism, and contrasts it with swappers' behavior on mainnet Ethereum. It concludes with looking at gas fees on the two blockchains side by side, which can be one of the main drivers of user behavior and can help explain some of its trends.

To be sure we are comparing apples to apples, this analysis looks at Uniswap V3 swaps made on:

• Optimism (routers 0xE592427A0AEce92De3Edee1F18E0157C05861564, 0x68b3465833fb72A70ecDF485E0e4C7bD8665Fc45 in the new optimism.core schema), vs.

• mainnet Ethereum (routers 0x7a250d5630B4cF539739dF2C5dAcb4c659F2488D, 0xE592427A0AEce92De3Edee1F18E0157C05861564 in the ethereum.core schema).

This analysis makes the Optimism/L1 comparison for the last 10 days, 15-25 June 2022. This dashboard relies on Flipside Crypto data, and since Flipside's Optimism schema is currently in 'Lite' mode (at the moment the data is only available from 15 June 2022 onwards, and is not yet backfilled), this dictates the time period for the analysis.

Data Results

The numbers of Uniswap V3 swaps on Optimism and Ethereum go hand-in-hand. Although Uniswap V3 does not have the highest volume of DEXes on mainnet (see, for example, this analysis by CryptoIcicle), this suggests that Optimism may be set to compete with the mainnet for swaps:

Takeaways

To conclude, this analysis has shown that users on Optimism are swapping just as actively as on the mainnet, at least when it comes to a DEX like Uniswap V3. Although factors other than cost may keep users on L1 Ethereum, the Optimism user activity level is unsurprising given the schism in gas fees between the two chains.

About

This analysis was created by catscatscode (Flipside, Twitter, catscatscode#3578 on Discord) on 25 June 2022 for Flipside Crypto's "User Behavior" Optimism bounty. This analysis represents the author's best effort at interpreting available data, but it is not financial advice.

However, Uniswap V3 on mainnet Ethereum attracts almost double the number of unique wallets than Optimism does:

In terms of average wallet activity, Optimism on Uniswap V3 has a smaller yet active user base who on average perform 3-6 swaps per day, while mainnet wallets that use Uniswap V3 make on average just 2-3 Uniswap V3 swaps per day:

From the charts above it appears that Optimism attracts just as much Uniswap V3 activity as L1 Ethereum, if not by the volumes of unique users, then by their activity level.

Has this level of engagement been achieved by the drastically lower fees that Optimism is able to offer as an L2?

The visualizations below look into the daily and overall average gas fees users have paid for the swaps we examined above.

The chart below necessitates a logarithmic scale to be able to visually compare the average fees for two blockchains, so vastly different they are. It shows average daily gas per transaction in Gwei (1 ETH = 1000000000 Gwei):

On mainnet Ethereum, a Uniswap V3 swap on average cost 0.01 ETH in gas over the past 10 days - a high number, if not unsurprising for L1 users. Some swaps, like this one for example, cost in excess of 2 ETH in gas alone:

In contrast, an average Uniswap V3 swap on Optimism cost a miniscule 0.000000765 ETH:

That brings Optimism gas fees to less than a hundredth of a percent of mainnet fees: