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Layer 2 (L2) network Optimism (OP) transaction volume has declined by over 70% to 200,000 from an all-time high ($ATH) of 800,000, according to Etherscan data.
Meanwhile, despite the steep decline in its transaction volume, Optimism’s OP printed a $2.49 $ATH on Jan. 25, according to CryptoSlate data.
Optimism’s transaction volume falls
Binance research pointed out that the decline in volume coincided with Optimism ending its $NFT incentive program, “Optimism Quests,” on Jan. 17 — the $NFT program majorly drove user engagements and transactions to the L2 network.
Optimism’s growth was inorganic in 2022 because incentives in its ecosystem fueled its growth, a Messari report said. Recent events on the network have confirmed this report.
For context, the L2 network registered over 600,000 transactions on Jan. 17 and declined by over 50% to 239,000 by Jan. 18, according to Etherscan data. Since then, the network volume has ranged between 160,000 – 200,000.
Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) analyst, DeFiyst, suggested that users participated in the incentive program because they wanted to qualify for OP’s second airdrop.
OP trades at new $ATH
OP is one of the biggest gainers in the current market rally, growing by over 139% in the last 30 days. As of Jan. 1, the governance token was trading for less than $1, but its value more than doubled when the network witnessed a surge in its transaction volume on Jan. 12.
Despite ending the Quest program more than a week ago, OP’s value has increased by 21% in the last seven days..