Optimism Quests Program: 70% Drop in Daily Transaction Count

• In September 2022, Optimism released a series of 18 tasks called „Optimism Quests,“ with a deadline set for 17 January 2023.
• Upon the launch of the program, Optimism experienced an increase in user numbers as the daily transaction count on the network saw a significant spike.
• Following the conclusion of the Optimism Quests program, daily transaction on Optimism has declined, with a 70% decline in daily transaction count.

In September 2022, Optimism, a layer 2 network, released a series of 18 tasks called „Optimism Quests,“ with a deadline set for 17 January 2023. The purpose of the program was to make the user experience in the ecosystem more seamless, while also allowing people to mint a commemorative NFT as a representation of their completion of the respective quests.

The launch of the program saw an immediate surge in user numbers as the daily transaction count on the network saw a significant spike. Data from Dune Analytics showed that daily transactions on the layer 2 network climbed steadily to register a high of 760,000 transactions on 12 January, a few days before the end of the program. This represented the highest count of daily transactions completed on the network since its launch two years ago. Per the discovery of a pseudonymous Twitter user known as Dogetoshi, during the Optimism Quests program, the daily transaction count on Optimism even surpassed that of Arbitrum.

Unfortunately, since the conclusion of the Optimism Quests program, daily transaction on Optimism has declined. Specifically, the network has seen a 70% decline in daily transaction count. This showed that many users flocked to the network only for the rewards promised by the program, and were not necessarily committed to the network in the long-term. As such, the declining daily transaction count serves as a reminder for the need for the network to develop further features and incentives to retain users.

Realistic or not, Optimism’s market cap in BTC’s terms remains to be seen. However, the performance of the network during the Optimism Quests program serves as an indication of the potential of the layer 2 network. With the right incentives and features, Optimism could very well become a major powerhouse in the blockchain space.