Ethereum A Recap of the Key Points of the Cancun Upgrade (Dencun)
Ethereum The Cancun Upgrade (Dencun), which combines improvements to the execution layer (“Cancun”) and the consensus layer (“Deneb”), went live on the mainnet on March 13, 2024, at Ethereum.At the heart of this upgrade is the implementation of EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), which aims to significantly reduce transaction fees on Layer 2 (L2) networks and improve data availability by introducing “Blob-carrying transactions.”
- EIP-4844 and Blobs: A Blob is a temporary data unit that can be stored on the Ethereum consensus layer for approximately 18 days and is not directly accessible by the execution layer. This mechanism significantly reduces data storage costs for L2 networks.
- Significant Fee Reduction: Following the Cancun upgrade, transaction fees on Layer 2 networks, including Optimism, have decreased significantly; some reports indicate reductions of up to 90%.
- Milestone: This upgrade is a crucial step toward achieving full data sharding (Danksharding) on Ethereum, aimed at elevating the network’s scalability, security, and efficiency to new heights, with the long-term goal of increasing transactions per second (TPS) to over 100,000.
Optimism (OP)’s Role and Benefits in the Cancun Upgrade
As one of the leading Layer 2 solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem, Optimism was deeply involved in the development and testing of EIP-4844. The Cancun upgrade has had a significant positive impact on Optimism’s fundamentals:
- Reduced L1 Costs: With the introduction of Blob transactions via EIP-4844, the cost for Optimism to submit transaction data to the Ethereum mainnet has dropped significantly, directly translating into lower transaction fees for users.
- Increased on-chain activity: Lower transaction fees have attracted more users and applications to deploy on the Optimism network, thereby boosting on-chain activity and the ecosystem’s vitality.
- Technical Adaptability: As one of the projects with the closest ties to Ethereum’s core developers, Optimism’s OP Stack modular architecture can efficiently adapt to the technical improvements brought by the Cancun upgrade, ensuring its network can fully leverage the new features.
Optimism’s Own Development and the Superchain Vision
In addition to benefiting from the Ethereum mainnet upgrade, Optimism itself is constantly evolving, with its Superchain vision at the core of its long-term competitiveness.
- Bedrock Upgrade: Optimism completed the Bedrock upgrade on June 6, 2023, further optimizing transaction fees and performance, making it one of the lowest-cost chains in the L2 space at the time, with an average L1 fee savings of 54.5% per transaction.
- The Superchain Vision and OP Stack: Optimism’s strategic focus is on building the Optimism Superchain network based on the OP Stack. The OP Stack is an open-source, modular framework that allows other projects to build their own L2 chains on top of it, forming a unified, interoperable ecosystem.Well-known projects such as Base (Coinbase), Unichain (Uniswap), Ink (Kraken), and World Chain (Worldcoin) are all built on the OP Stack. Superchain aims to address blockchain fragmentation by enabling seamless communication and asset transfers between L2 chains.
- OP Token Buyback Program: In January 2026, OP token holders approved a buyback program to allocate 50% of the Optimism protocol’s revenue toward over-the-counter (OTC) swaps, aligning the OP token’s economic model with Superchain’s long-term development.
- Airdrop History: Optimism has conducted multiple OP token airdrops, including the first airdrop on May 31, 2022 (distributing 5% of the initial total supply to 249,000 addresses), as well as subsequent airdrops in September 2023,February and October 2024, aimed at incentivizing community participation and network growth.
OP Token Market Performance and Economic Model
As of this writing (July 17, 2026), the market performance of the OP token is as follows:
- Current price: approximately $0.10 to $0.1025.
- Market Capitalization: Between approximately $222 million and $233 million.
- 24-hour trading volume: Between approximately $31.37 million and $41.46 million.
- Circulating Supply: As of February 4, 2026, the circulating supply was approximately 2.117 billion OP. As of this writing, the circulating supply is approximately 2.282 billion to 2.3 billion OP.
- Total Supply/Max Supply: 4.29 billion OP.
- Historical Price: The all-time high (ATH) was reached in 2024 at approximately $4.84 to $4.86. The all-time low (ATL) was approximately $0.0889 to $0.09.
As of March 19, 2024, the Total Value Locked (TVL) in the Optimism ecosystem was approximately $906 million; this figure may have changed since then and is provided for reference only.Its ecosystem already hosts nearly 250 applications spanning multiple sectors, including DeFi, NFTs, Bridges, Exchanges, Wallets, Infrastructure, and DAOs.
The Optimism project has secured funding in multiple rounds: a seed round on January 15, 2020 ($3.5 million, led by Paradigm and IDEO Colab Ventures),a Series A round on February 24, 2021 ($25 million, led by Andreessen Horowitz and others), and a Series B round on March 17, 2022 ($150 million, co-led by Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz, with a valuation of $1.65 billion).
Optimism Ecosystem and Governance
Optimism’s governance structure is managed by the Optimism Collective, a decentralized organization jointly governed by the Citizens’ House and the Token House. OP token holders participate in governance through the Token House, influencing major decisions such as protocol upgrades and fund allocation.
Market Perspectives and Potential Risks
The market generally views the Cancun upgrade as a significant positive for the entire Layer 2 (L2) sector, particularly for leading projects like Optimism. Thanks to its Superchain vision and the widespread adoption of the OP Stack, Optimism is viewed by some analysts as having a long-term competitive advantage and is expected to build an interconnected ecosystem with greater network effects than a single L2 chain.
However, there are also some potential risks and perspectives in the market:
- Positive News Already Priced In: The positive impact of the Cancun upgrade may have already been partially priced in by the market, leaving limited room for price appreciation in the short term.
- Token Unlocking Pressure: The ongoing unlocking of OP tokens may create selling pressure at specific points in time.
- L2 Competition: Although Optimism has unique advantages, the L2 space is highly competitive, and projects like Arbitrum still lead in terms of TVL and trading volume.
- Technical Risks: Layer 2 solutions rely on the security and decentralization of the Ethereum mainnet; at the same time, Layer 2 solutions themselves face potential risks such as validator limitations and vulnerabilities in centralized sequencers.
How to Obtain OP Tokens
OP tokens can be traded on major global cryptocurrency exchanges, including but not limited to Binance (Binance), OKX (OKX), Coinbase, Kraken, and Gate.io.Users can typically buy and sell OP tokens through the spot markets on these platforms. Additionally, as an ERC-20 token within the Ethereum ecosystem, OP tokens can also be traded via decentralized exchanges (DEXs) by connecting Web3 wallets such as MetaMask.
