Optimism's native token, OP, led the Layer 2 sector with a significant 13% price surge in the last 24 hours, accompanied by a 140% jump in trading volume to over $200 million. This surge placed OP as the fifth-best performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The heightened activity was mirrored on-chain, with the Optimism network processing over 2.5 million transactions in a single day, bringing the total transaction count closer to 1 billion.
Analysts point to a combination of technical and fundamental factors driving the move. On the charts, OP broke above the neckline of an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern at $0.3388, signaling a potential shift in market structure from bearish to bullish. Technical indicators like the MACD turned bullish, while the Stochastic RSI suggested the asset was emerging from oversold conditions. The continuation of this trend is seen as contingent on OP maintaining support above the $0.3388 breakout level, with a successful hold potentially opening the path toward $0.45.
Fundamentally, the surge aligns with robust network growth. Data from Token Terminal shows Optimism (OP Mainnet) holds a 9% share of the Layer 2 market by fully diluted valuation, which stood at over $1.3 billion. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe highlighted that OP's clean bounce and hold above the 21-day moving average indicates "smooth purchasing" and accumulation rather than speculative short-term buying, suggesting the move may be more substantive than a typical relief rally. The analyst stated the trend is now up, reflecting a shift from a defensive phase into early recovery.
