Aave & Uniswap Double Down on Optimism – But Why Are Traders Sleeping on This $4.6B L2 Giant?
DeFi heavyweights Aave and Uniswap are going all-in on Optimism’s Layer 2 ecosystem – yet traders keep scrolling past this $4.6B opportunity. What gives?
The elephant in the room
While Ethereum’s gas fees hit new comedy highs daily, Optimism’s scaling solution processes transactions for pennies. Aave’s liquidity pools and Uniswap’s DEX infrastructure now run smoother than a VC’s pitch deck on this L2 chain.
Adoption vs. attention
TVL doesn’t lie – $4.6B in locked value proves institutional adoption. But retail traders still treat L2s like a sidechain afterthought. Maybe they’re too busy chasing the next memecoin ‘moonshot’ to notice real infrastructure growth.
The cynical take
Wall Street spends millions researching scaling solutions while crypto ‘degens’ ignore a working product because it lacks a dog mascot. Optimism’s biggest challenge? Making Layer 2 as sexy as unsustainable APY farms.
Source: CoinMarketCap
From Aave to Zora: Optimism Powers Real Adoption While Memecoins Steal Spotlight
Despite posting double-digit gains, Optimism’s ($OP) $1.2 billion valuation remains surprisingly low compared to meme tokens like Fartcoin, BONK, and TRUMP Coin.
The disparity becomes clear when examining the data. Optimism does not merely compete with other layer-2 solutions—it leads them.
The network hosts nearly 300 live protocols, far exceeding the combined total of Aptos and Sui, according to DeFiLlama. Even Solana, often referred to as the “Ethereum killer,” lags behind in active applications.
The Superchain effect further strengthens Optimism’s position. Major players, including Base, Zora, and Sam Altman’s Worldcoin, now rely on OP Stack, forming a $4.6 billion ecosystem that serves as key infrastructure for modular blockchains. Recent developments confirm real-world adoption.
When AAVE selected Optimism for its Solenium integration last week, the decision indicated more than just a partnership; it also marked a major milestone.
Aave
The Superchain. https://t.co/I6euOR2J46
Yet the market continues to undervalue $OP. Its market capitalization remains at half of Aptos’ $3 billion, not to mention the inflated valuations of meme coins.
As Ethereum’s activity rebounds, the real puzzle is not whether $OP will surpass $0.80, but why investors still treat this leading platform as a secondary player.
Optimism Powers DeFi’s Future—So Why Is Its Token Stuck at $0.73?
Ethereum’s scaling solution, Optimism, achieved a major endorsement this month.
On June 9, both Optimism and Uniswap officially announced the deployment of Uniswap’s v4 Hook Design Lab on Unchain, marking the first major implementation of Uniswap’s next-generation technology on Optimism’s stack.
Billions of dollars of capital is entering DeFi on the Superchain and v4 Hooks are radically opening up the design space for what that capital can do.
Builders, see if this grant is a good fit for you and your goals.
Users, stay tuned. https://t.co/npUvTHNl1G
The same infrastructure supported Velodrome’s recent surge past $1 billion in cumulative trading volume. Importantly, $500 million of this activity occurred in just the past six weeks, demonstrating accelerating adoption of Optimism’s low-fee environment.
These developments show the fundamental utility of Optimism within the cryptocurrency market, particularly within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Despite this demonstrated utility as a DeFi infrastructure provider, OP tokens continue trading at just $0.73. The disconnect persists even as analysts note Optimism’s technical advantages.
Michaël van de Poppe, Chief Investment Officer at MN Capital, acknowledges that $OP is currently forming a higher timeframe bullish divergence pattern.
A simplified chart, and I constantly talk about $OP, however, it''s making a higher timeframe bullish divergence.
If ethereum continues to break out, I think that Optimism is going to yield a higher Beta.
At this point, from a TA perspective, there''s additional confirmation… pic.twitter.com/YP8WuUIuZ9
Should Ethereum continue its breakout trajectory, “Optimism is positioned to deliver higher Beta returns,” he noted.
$OP’s Bullish Divergence Signals Breakout Above $0.80 Resistance
The OP/USDT daily chart reveals that a prominent descending trendline, which characterized the previous bearish phase, was successfully breached to the upside earlier this year, indicating a meaningful momentum shift.
Since this breakout, the price has faced challenges in establishing sustained upward movement, instead trading within a horizontal consolidation range between approximately $0.60 and $0.80.
Multiple horizontal resistance zones are evident on the chart, with distinct clusters concentrated around the $0.80, $1.00, and $1.25 levels.
These price points have historically functioned as supply areas, and a break above the immediate $0.80 resistance could facilitate a MOVE toward higher targets, specifically the $1.00 level and potentially extending to $1.40.
The RSI Divergence Indicator displays encouraging patterns, with the RSI currently positioned at 54.82, demonstrating upward momentum and crossing above the key 50 midpoint.
$OP is showing a strong base here around the $0.59–$0.62 zone, holding support perfectly!
A clear breakout above this falling trendline could open the door for a big move → $0.82, $1.08, and even higher toward $1.38+ if momentum builds.
Structure looks solid, bulls are… pic.twitter.com/Bu5kaUXqaa
This threshold has traditionally served as a dividing line between bearish and bullish market conditions.
Nevertheless, the inability to surpass the $0.80 resistance level could result in $OP retesting the range’s lower boundary NEAR $0.60 before any meaningful upside development occurs.
