Hey everyone! Recently, fans have asked — 'Will OP be left out after a year?' 'How big is the zero-risk?' 'Who should I choose between OP and Arbitrum?' With 13 years of experience in the crypto space, I’m here to help! After being in this circle for so long, I understand what long-term holders need: 'stability + transparency', and today I will strip OP down to its basics so you can hold it with peace of mind!😘
First, let me reassure the old players: OP is definitely not a worthless token! It is the 'overachiever' in Ethereum Layer2, using Optimistic Rollup technology to compress a bunch of transactions into a single data packet on the mainnet — now, after collaborating with Flashbots, the confirmation speed is directly reduced to 200 milliseconds, and the Gas fee is 80% lower than the mainnet, making daily transfers and DeFi operations super smooth! 💨 Previously, someone mentioned that 'using OP saves enough money for a cup of milk tea compared to the mainnet', and that’s no exaggeration!
Let's focus on the DeFi governance that you are most concerned about (take note!): Holding OP allows you to participate in the DAO as a 'decision-maker', from protocol upgrades and how to spend the ecological fund to whether or not to add new features, you can vote! But I have to tell the truth: in the token distribution, early investors hold 17%, and by the end of the year, approximately 130 million tokens will be unlocked (worth about 150 million USD), so there may be some short-term fluctuations; don’t panic when you see drops, as these are all 'small ripples of washout' in the long term!⚠️ Additionally, the Season 8 governance upgrade is super strong; previously, many nodes relied on OP Labs, but now they are gradually distributing power to the community, filling the gap in decentralization!
Now, looking at the hard data on-chain, this is the confidence for long-term holding! Currently, OP's mainnet TVL (Total Locked Value) is stable at 3.61 billion USD, ranking third in Layer2; even better is its 'Superchain circle of friends' — Coinbase's Base, Uniswap's Unichain, and Kraken's Ink are all included, and in Q2 this year, these chains together accounted for over 60% of Ethereum Layer2 transactions! Think about it, the more the ecosystem unites, the harder it is for users and projects to leave, making long-term value more stable, right? 📊 By the way, in the last 30 days, the daily transactions on OP's mainnet exceeded 500,000, a 20% increase compared to Q1, indicating that more and more people are genuinely using it, not just a fleeting trend!
Compared to competitors, we are not afraid! Our EVM compatibility is smoother than Arbitrum (TVL 19.2 billion), and developers can migrate their projects from the mainnet to OP with almost no code changes; it's also more user-friendly than zkSync, which, although technically strong, sometimes requires a few minutes for confirmation, while OP generally confirms within seconds! However, it must be noted that the level of decentralization hasn't reached its peak yet; currently, the validating nodes are still primarily led by OP Labs, but the upgrade plan mentions that third-party validation will be opened by the end of the year, and things will gradually improve!✨
Is the zero-risk concern the most worrying? I guarantee you: the probability is extremely low! Firstly, the team background is solid, with core members being veterans of the Ethereum ecosystem and strong in technology; secondly, big institutions like Coinbase and Kraken are backing it, and Base has signed a revenue-sharing agreement with OP, which is equivalent to 'holding on to a big leg'; liquidity is also not a concern, with mainstream exchanges having a stable 24-hour trading volume of over 1.5 billion USD, so you can sell anytime; technically, after last year's upgrade of the Bedrock architecture, the security vulnerability rate has dropped by 90%, and there haven't been any major security incidents in the last 6 months! However, two points need caution: the Layer2 space is very competitive, and new projects like Sonic may divert users; also, global regulatory policies are changing, which is something all tokens need to guard against!📝
Lastly, let’s highlight some key points for long-term holders (make sure to save this!): For those holding for over a year, it's recommended to gradually build positions in the range of 0.4-0.6 USD — why choose this range? Because this is OP's 'institutional cost zone', with many early institutional holders having an average holding price around 0.6 USD; if it falls below this price, the selling pressure will decrease, and the safety cushion will be thick enough! Don't be greedy with your position; control it within 5%-10% of your portfolio, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Ethereum's Fusaka is about to upgrade, and Layer2 will benefit from it! 💡
If you have OP in hand or are looking to build a position, please share your cost price / psychological expectations in the comments, and I'll help you analyze your holding strategy! After 13 years in the crypto space, my goal is to help you spend every penny wisely, avoiding pitfalls and being left out!❤️
