Optimism Token Up 6.5% as Coinbase Builds Its Layer 2 on the Platform

The price of optimism token (OP) rose by 6.5% Thursday after Coinbase (COIN) said it is building its layer 2 blockchain using the OP Stack in collaboration with Optimism.

OP is the native token of the Optimism protocol, a layer 2 scaling tool for the Ethereum blockchain that launched last year. It was recently trading at $3.04 following the Coinbase announcement.

Coinbase's layer 2 blockchain, aptly named Base, won't feature a native token, unlike other layer 2 blockchains such as Polygon (MATIC). The price of MATIC was little changed following the announcement.

The first phase of Base will be a test network, but it's expected that the first decentralized exchange, lending protocol and decentralized apps (dapps) will perform well once the mainnet is live, as similar products surged in volume on protocols like Arbitrum, Polygon and Optimism.

This isn't Coinbase's first foray away from being a typical exchange. Last year, it opened a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, but volume has been low, compared with the volume on competitors OpenSea and LooksRare, according to data from Dune Analytics.