Optimism

[Optimism (OP)](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/optimism-ethereum) is a [layer-two](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-2) blockchain on top of [Ethereum](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/ethereum). Optimism benefits from the security of the Ethereum mainnet and helps scale the Ethereum ecosystem by using [optimistic rollups](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/optimistic-rollup). That means transactions are trustlessly recorded on Optimism but ultimately secured on Ethereum. Optimism is one of the biggest scaling solutions for Ethereum with over $500 million in [TVL](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/total-value-locked-tvl). It is home to 97 protocols, the biggest being [Synthetix (SNX)](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/synthetix-network-token), a derivatives exchange, [Uniswap (UNI)](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/uniswap), a [DEX](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-exchange-dex), and [Velodrome (VELO)](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/velodrome-finance), an [AMM](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/automated-market-maker-amm). Users can begin their journey on Optimism by adding the chain on their [Metamask](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/metamask) and [bridging](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/bridges) tokens like [ETH](https://www.coinlive.com/coin/ethereum) to the L2. On May 31, 2022, Optimism conducted a highly anticipated [airdrop](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/airdrop) of its OP token.