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Ethereum-based Layer 2 protocols Arbitrum and Optimism have seen a steady increase in transactions since the beginning of the year.
Both protocols set new all-time highs on transaction counts in September.
One key distinction between the two is that Arbitrum does not have a governance token. Optimism formally announced the launch of its token at the end of April and released it the following month.
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Optimism’s transaction count began rising leading up to the governance token announcement. The protocol then saw a surge when the token formally went live across exchanges on May 31. This led to interest and speculation for a potential Arbitrum token launch.
Since then, both platforms have seen a steady rise in transactions and have continued an upward trajectory.
Arbitrum currently has the highest Total Value Locked (TVL) across all Layer 2 networks, with roughly 50% market share. Optimism has a market share of approximately 30%, according to L2Beat.
By contrast, the next closest Layer 2 by market share is Metis, which has a 2.71% market share. Metis announced a 26-week-long incentive program on July 26, leading to a roughly 60% increase in its TVL. However, it has since tapered off to just above the level it was at prior to the announcement.
Layer 2 networks inherit security from Ethereum and are intended to reduce the cost of transactions. Arbitrum and Optimism are Optimistic Rollups, which have gained the most traction to date.