Ethereum Layer 2 chains see nearly 32 million transactions per week after Dencun upgrade

• Ethereum Dencun upgrade resulted in a significant decline in Layer 2 gas costs, driving higher on-chain activity to these protocols. 
• Transactions climbed to nearly 32 million per week on Arbitrum, Optimism and Base. 
• Prices of Layer 2 tokens climbed between 1% and 8% on Saturday. 

Ethereum Layer 2 gas costs plummeted in response to the Dencun upgrade. Data from intelligence tracker IntoTheBlock show that the Dencun upgrade has reduced the transaction cost of Layer 2 chains and promoted an increase in on-chain activity on these protocols. 

Ethereum Layer 2 chains see spike in activity 

While Solana is making headlines for failed transactions and rising DEX activity and meme coin narrative, Ethereum Layer 2 chains are seeing a consistent growth in activity. The Dencun upgrade resulted in a significant decrease in transaction cost on Layer 2 chains like Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP) and Base (BASE). 

Transaction fees on Layer 2 chains

Data from IntoTheBlock shows an increase in activity on the Layer 2 chains, as users respond to the declining transaction costs. This was anticipated as a result of the Dencun upgrade. 

Number of transactions on Ethereum Layer 2 chains 

The radical increase in number of transactions despite rising competition from Solana and alternative chains marks a significant development in the Layer 2 ecosystem. As on April 6, Layer 2 tokens Polygon (MATIC), Stacks (STX), Mantle (MNT), ARB, ImmutableX (IMX), Starknet (STRK) piled on between 1% and 8% gains on Saturday. 

Layer 2 tokens 

On the weekly timeframe, Layer 2 tokens have printed nearly double-digit losses for holders. It remains to be seen whether the demand from users can aid recovery in L2 tokens in the coming week.