What is optimism?

Optimism is a leading Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution designed to significantly drop gas fees and increase transaction throughput. By leveraging optimistic rollup technology, Optimism processes transactions off-chain and submits batched transactions back to Ethereum, ensuring security and cost-effectiveness. This makes the Optimism network highly suitable for Decentralized Finance protocols, NFT markets, and airdrop hunters looking for lower fees and faster confirmations.

##What problem does Optimism solve?

High gas fees and network congestion on Ethereum have long hindered the widespread adoption of blockchain applications. Optimism addresses these challenges by bundling multiple transactions into a single proof, which is then verified on the Ethereum mainnet. The result is that fees on Optimism Layer-2 have dropped by up to 10 times, enabling instant execution—paving the way for mainstream Decentralized Finance usage, seamless NFT transactions, and regular Airdrops without high costs.

##Top 10 protocols on Optimism

The top 10 protocols on Optimism ranked by Total Value Locked (TVL) include Velodrome, Synthetix, Curve Finance, Aave, Beefy Finance, Uniswap, PoolTogether, Sonne Finance, StarGate, and BeethovenX. Each protocol offers unique features—from AMM and lending to yield aggregators and cross-chain bridges—making them essential projects for anyone exploring Optimism Airdrop opportunities or Optimism Decentralized Finance protocols.

1. Bicycle Track

Velodrome is a community-governed automated market maker (AMM) that adjusts the voting staking model for Optimism. Users lock up VELO tokens to gain voting rights and earn a portion of the transaction fees and "bribes" paid by projects seeking liquidity. With deep liquidity pools and regular VELO Airdrops, Velodrome is a cornerstone of the Optimism ecosystem.

2. Synthetix

Synthetix enables the creation of synthetic assets ("synthetic assets") that track real-world prices—from cryptocurrencies to commodities—backed by SNX or ETH collateral. On Optimism, Synthetix V3 offers efficient trading and has historically rewarded early users through its sUSD liquidity mining and governance token distribution.

3. Curve Finance

Curve focuses on providing ultra-low slippage trading for assets pegged to fiat currencies (such as stablecoins and liquid staking derivatives). Its optimized AMM algorithm ensures the minimum price impact, making it the preferred decentralized exchange (DEX) for stablecoin trading on Optimism and for liquidity providers (LP) positions to qualify for Airdrop through CRV farming.

4. Aave V3

Aave V3 introduces permissionless lending to Optimism, offering features such as efficient mode and new asset isolation mode. Depositers can earn interest on stablecoins and wrapped tokens, while borrowers can obtain loans at variable or fixed rates - and may be eligible for future AAVE governance token rewards.

5. Beefy Finance

Beefy Finance is a cross-chain yield optimizer that automatically compounds farming rewards on Optimism. By pooling user funds into high-yield strategies, Beefy maximizes the annual percentage yield (APY) and simplifies yield farming, allowing users to easily take advantage of airdrop incentives from multiple protocols with just one Beefy LP token.

6. Uniswap V3

Uniswap V3 on Optimism offers concentrated liquidity positions for custom price ranges, enhancing capital efficiency. Traders benefit from lower fees and faster execution, while liquidity providers can fine-tune their strategies and receive UNI governance fee rebates—ideal for those seeking Uniswap Airdrop and protocol incentives.

7. PoolTogether

PoolTogether is a "no-loss lottery" savings protocol where users deposit funds into a shared pool for a chance to win the interest earned. It is particularly suitable for risk-averse Optimism users to participate in on-chain games, and it has the potential to receive POOL token airdrops without any loss of principal.

8. Sonne Finance

Sonne Finance offers leveraged yield farming on Optimism, allowing users to amplify returns on stablecoins and liquidity pool tokens. Leveraged positions combined with Sonne's native SONNE token rewards create attractive airdrop and yield farming opportunities for Optimism traders.

9. Stargate

StarGate is a cross-chain liquidity bridge that enables instant local asset swaps between Optimism and other Layers. 1⁄2 network. StarGate's unified liquidity pool reduces slippage and gas fees, making it an important protocol for anyone looking to bridge funds for the upcoming Airdrop or engage in DeFi farming on Gate.

10. BeethovenX

BeethovenX is a multi-chain DEX and vault platform that utilizes Balancer V2's smart pools on Optimism. It offers customizable liquidity and batch swaps, as well as BPT token incentives and occasional BEETS airdrops – making it ideal for optimizers looking to earn passive income in the Optimism ecosystem.

Key Features of the Optimism Protocol

The Optimism protocol typically shares:

• Low gas fees: Transaction costs are only a small fraction of the Ethereum mainnet.
• Rapid finality: confirmations within seconds make high-frequency trading possible.
• Airdrop incentives: Many projects reward early users through token distribution.
• Interoperability: Bridging chains like StarGate seamlessly transfer assets to other chains and centralized exchanges like Gate.

##Basic Information about OP Token

• Token Symbol: OP
• Blockchain: Ethereum (Layer-2 Optimistic Rollup)
• Token Standard: ERC-20
• Total supply: 4,294,967,296 OP (maximum).

##Token Allocation The distribution of OP tokens includes:

• Community Airdrop and Rewards: ~16%
• Financial and ecosystem grants: ~25%
• Developers and foundation funds: ~28%
• Investors and team: ~31%. The OP token is unlocked in stages over several years, with gradual distribution to the community and developers to ensure long-term ecosystem growth.

What is the use of OP tokens?

• Governance: Voting on protocol upgrades and fee settings.
• Staking: Earn OP by locking tokens and securing the network.
• Incentives: Provide liquidity for L2 protocols or stake to earn OP rewards.

##OP Token Storage Safely store OP in any ERC-20 compatible wallet, such as MetaMask, Ledger, or Gate wallet.

OP has been listed on major exchanges, including Gate, where you can trade the OP/USDT or OP/ETH trading pairs with deep liquidity and low fees.

##Investors and Funds

Optimism has raised funds from top venture capital firms such as a16z, Paradigm, and Optimism Collective to support ecosystem grants, development, and bridging security.

##Conclusion

The Optimism network has a vibrant ecosystem with over 100 protocols—each offering unique Airdrop and Decentralized Finance opportunities. From AMMs like Velodrome and Uniswap V3 to lending giants Aave and Synthetix, these top 10 protocols are essential for any Optimism explorer or Airdrop hunter. As a Gate content creator, I encourage you to connect your wallet, bridge funds to Optimism, and dive into these high-potential Layer 2 projects today.

Author: Blog Team *The content of this article does not constitute any offer, solicitation, or suggestion. You should always seek independent professional advice before making any investment decisions. *Please note that Gate may restrict or prohibit the use of all or part of its services from restricted areas. For more information, please read the user agreement.