Optimism (OP)

What Happened to the L2s?

@ben_chain and @karl_dot_tech (co-founders of @Optimism ), interviewed by @JasonYanowitz on @theempirepod

Summary: The 2 Optimism co-founders discuss the L2 reckoning, and how Optimism pivoted from running a single chain to an enterprise SaaS model selling customized, differentiated block space to institutions. Along the way they cover Optimism's moat, who actually needs their own chain, the state of Ethereum, the experience of having a token, and what defines success in crypto.

1. Hype Meets Reality. The short version of what happened to L2s is hype meeting reality. Crypto moved from speculative blue‑sky ambition to actually delivering value to end users, which requires real product development and product‑market fit. Many chains and hype projects never had those fundamentals, and when you lack fundamentals, the floor can fall out from under you. @ben_chain frames it as crypto finally being taken seriously by people outside the bubble, so a bit of deflation is unsurprising as t