The battle for Ethereum scalability intensifies: Arbitrum vs Optimism, who will dominate the future of L2?

The Ethereum scaling battle is becoming increasingly intense, with the two major Layer 2 giants, Arbitrum and Optimism, leading the way. They are no longer experimental chains, but ecosystems worth billions of dollars, becoming the pillars of modern Decentralized Finance and incubators for the next generation of Web3 infrastructure. However, they have chosen entirely different paths: one pursuing modular unification, the other emphasizing sovereign flexibility.

So, which chain is more likely to dominate Ethereum's future scaling landscape? Let's dive into the analysis.

Ecological Growth and User Activity: Arbitrum Remains Dominant

Currently, Arbitrum is clearly leading in terms of adoption rate. By late June 2025, its Total Value Locked (TVL) exceeds 2.9 billion USD, with daily trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) exceeding 1.1 million transactions, and over 330,000 daily active addresses. Numerous heavyweight DeFi projects have been deployed here, and its liquidity advantages are evident.

Optimism is steadily catching up. Its TVL is approximately $440 million, and it processes over 1.2 million transactions daily within its ecosystem. Although the number of daily active wallets is relatively low (about 68,000), the new "OP Chains" launched under the "Superchain" framework is attracting a large number of developers and users.

It is worth noting the user retention rate: the retention rate of new users on both platforms after 30-60 days is approximately 35-45%. Arbitrum benefits from its Open Interest and organic growth, especially from Orbit expansion and Sequencer profits. Optimism wins with its robust incentive system (community funding, on-chain tasks, OP token rewards).

Conclusion: Arbitrum excels in scale and liquidity, while Optimism thrives through incentives and cross-chain expansion.

Funding and strategic support: Both parties have strong backing.

The competition for dominance in Layer 2 is not only on-chain but also receives support from capital giants. Arbitrum has gained endorsements from top venture capital firms such as Lightspeed, Pantera, and Paradigm, and has established deep collaborations with DeFi giants like Uniswap, GMX, and Gains Network. This financial backing has fueled ecosystem expansion, the development of new tools, and the construction of Layer 3 networks.

Optimism is no less impressive. Its supporters include a16z, the Ethereum Foundation, and Paradigm, and it has recently received funding to support its superchain model. What sets Optimism apart is its commitment to public goods. The OP Stack includes governance for the OP chain, meaning token holders have real influence, and developers are rewarded for building open, composable infrastructure.

Arbitrum can be seen as focusing on centralized execution and decentralized options, while Optimism bets on modularity and collective infrastructure. Both are well-funded and have strong momentum, but they are driving entirely different visions for the future of Ethereum.

Future Technology: OP Stack vs Orbit

The true watershed is now evident.

The OP Stack of Optimism has supported over 40 chains (such as Base, Blast, etc.). The superchain model integrates these chains through shared governance, liquidity, and tools. It aims to horizontally scale Ethereum and reduce fragmentation. Recent upgrades like OP Succinct Lite utilize ZK fraud proofs to shorten withdrawal times, significantly enhancing user experience (UX).

Arbitrum is fully committed to customizable scaling. With the Orbit chain, developers can use Arbitrum Nitro to build their own L2 and L3. It is flexible, fast, and supports custom virtual machines (VM) such as Stylus, making it convenient for Rust and C++ developers. Upcoming technologies include BoLD+ Recursive Proofs, which will bring fast finality to the Orbit ecosystem and achieve a hundredfold increase in throughput.

Comparison: Optimism is building a unified world that is consistent with Ethereum; Arbitrum, on the other hand, is creating a multiverse where each chain can operate according to its own rules. Both solutions may succeed, but they address different scaling needs.

Choose Your Scaling Weapon: Arbitrum vs Optimism Ultimate Guide

Ultimately, this is not a winner-takes-all situation. Arbitrum and Optimism are both working together to propel Ethereum into the next era.

Who will dominate Ethereum Layer 2 in 2025?

• If you seek high liquidity, institutional-level DeFi access, and proven applications: Arbitrum is the first choice.
• If you yearn for a future of Interoperable Chains, Open-Source Governance, and Developer-First Tooling: Optimism may be more suitable.

A wiser strategy may not be an either-or choice, but rather understanding when and how to use each chain. The scalability of Ethereum is no longer a question of "whether it can be achieved," but rather "how quickly it can be achieved" and "through what means it can be achieved."

(Source: Blocknews)