Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions Lead DeFi Ecosystem Recovery

Layer 2 networks lead DeFi recovery

The Layer 2 ecosystem that is built parallel to the Ethereum mainnet is dominating DeFi. 

According to DeFi Llama data, the total value locked in the DeFi protocols based on Polygon Network, Optimism and Arbitrum One is 3.665 million dollars, at the close of this edition. 

Although the TVL (Total Value Locked) that currently exists on these sidechains has fallen significantly since the beginning of this year, in the case of Polygon and Arbitrum One, the last month has been particularly interesting for these Ethereum-based Layer 2 networks . 

According to the DeFi ecosystem data platform, the TVL on the Polygon Network, Optimism and Arbitrum One networks has increased by 15,6%, 390% and 24,3%, respectively, since last July. 

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The TVL is one of the most important metrics for measuring DeFi growth as it indicates the amount of digital assets that are locked within the smart contracts of applications and protocols built in the ecosystem. 

More than 5% of DeFi liquidity is deposited in Ethereum Layer 2

Polygon Network, Optimism and Arbitrum One rank as the sixth, eighth and ninth largest smart contract networks in the DeFi ecosystem, according to data from the DeFi platform Llama. 

Currently, the DeFi ecosystem, one of the hardest hit by the crypto winter, maintains liquidity close to $63.000 billion in general. From this value, 5,81% is locked in decentralized protocols based on Ethereum Layer 2

Both Polygon Network, Optimism and Arbitrum One are sidechains focused on scaling Ethereum, which offer their users the possibility of carrying out transactions on the chain quickly and at a very low cost. 

Each of these sidechains uses its own technology to ensure scalability and high transaction performance. 

Polygon Network

In the last month, the liquidity deposited in the decentralized protocols of Polygon Network, Ethereum's main Layer 2 scalability solution, has gone from $1.470 billion, at the beginning of July, to 1.700 over million nowadays. 

The agreements that Polygon Network has signed with several of the world's largest companies, such as The Walt Disney Company, Mercedes-Benz and Nothing Technology, are boosting the protocol's utility and attracting investor interest, as reflected in the growth of its DeFi ecosystem.

Polygon Network is also working on Polygon zkEVM, a scalability solution based on zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, among other projects such as Polygon Avail and Polygon ID, to improve its performance and usability. 

TVL graph on layer 2 Polygon Network in the last month.
TVL graph on Polygon Network in the last month.
Source: DeFi Llama

Optimism

The liquidity deposited in the smart contracts developed in Optimism has had quite striking growth in the last month. According to data from DeFi Llama, Optimism's TVL has gone from $274 million, in July, to 1.100 over million at the close of this edition. 

Last June, Optimism launched its own utility token called OP. Additionally, some of the most important decentralized protocols in the DeFi ecosystem, such as Synthetix, Uniswap and Aave, among others, have been implemented in this network to increase its scalability and offer greater performance to its users. 

TVL graph in Optimism in the last month.
TVL graph in Optimism in the last month.
Source: DeFi Llama

Arbitrum One

Arbitrum One, a Layer 2 solution that uses optimistic rollups to scale Ethereum, has grown from $712 million in liquidity in early July to over $883 million today. 

The developers of Arbitrum One have just announced a new technology, called Nitro, that will allow the network to process transactions in a faster and more accessible way. Arbitrum One is expected to migrate to the Nitro technology stack later this month. Likewise, this Tuesday, they reported on the launch of Arbitrum Nova, a new network focused on scalability and security.

layer 2 TVL graph in Arbitrum One in the last month.
TVL graph on Arbitrum One in the last month.
Source: DeFi Llama

The DeFi ecosystem begins to recover

After the strong winter that cryptocurrencies have experienced in 2022, the decentralized finance ecosystem has begun to show signs of recovery. 

According to data from the DeFi Llama platform, the Ethereum and Binance Chain networks are the ones that currently show the greatest boom and growth. The liquidity deposited in the protocols developed in these blockchains has increased by an average of 18% in the last month, while in other blockchains, such as Solana and Fantom, which offer greater scalability and, therefore, cheaper transactions, the DeFi growth has been less significant. 

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