Ethereum’s Layer-2 networks have proved that rollups can attract users, process transactions and support useful applications. Their tokens have proved much less.
A successful network does not automatically produce a valuable cryptoasset. If users can access a chain without buying its token, rising activity may never create lasting token demand. Investors should separate two questions that the market often combines: does the network work, and does its token capture any of that value?
On 22 August 2026, L2BEAT reported $30.84 billion in value secured across the Layer-2 sector. It also recorded 2,270 user operations per second across Layer 2s, compared with 23.64 on Ethereum. These figures demonstrate substantial usage, but they do not establish value accrual for individual governance tokens.
Governance has influence but no predictable return
Several major Layer-2 tokens provide governance rights rather than a direct claim on network revenue.
The Arbitrum Foundation states that ARB holders can vote on DAO proposals or delegate their voting power. Optimism’s documentation says OP launched as a governance token for decisions involving protocol upgrades and capital allocation.
Those rights have practical importance. Layer-2 DAOs oversee treasuries, grants and upgrades that can influence an ecosystem’s direction. Governance remains difficult to value, however, because it does not provide a predictable economic return.
Most users also have no reason to acquire these assets. They can pay transaction fees in ETH, hold stablecoins and use decentralised applications without owning the network’s governance token. More transactions may increase sequencer revenue while leaving demand for the token unchanged.
This creates a basic mismatch. The network functions as infrastructure, while the token behaves mainly as a voting instrument whose price depends on expectations about future utility.
Cheaper rollups intensify the problem
Ethereum’s scaling upgrades have improved Layer-2 economics while making token differentiation more difficult.
EIP-4844 introduced blob-carrying transactions that give rollups a separate market for publishing data. Lower data-availability costs help networks offer cheaper transactions. They do not determine whether token holders receive any of the resulting economic benefit.
Open-source software reduces the barrier to competition further. The OP Stack uses an MIT licence, allowing other teams to deploy or modify it. This can expand the surrounding ecosystem, but it also makes technical features easier to reproduce.
A Layer-2 must therefore compete through applications, liquidity, distribution, security and user experience. Even when it succeeds, holders may not benefit unless the protocol connects those advantages to sustainable token demand.
Tokens should pass a three-part value-capture test
A credible Layer-2 token should meet three conditions.
First, it needs functional necessity. The protocol should require the asset for an essential service such as decentralised sequencing, staking or security. Governance alone may not satisfy this condition.
Second, demand should grow with genuine usage. Incentive programmes can attract users and capital, but rewards often produce activity that disappears when subsidies decline.
Third, demand must outweigh supply growth. Unlocks, emissions and treasury distributions can place pressure on the market even when the network performs well. Transaction counts mean little to holders if circulating supply expands faster than demand.
The counterargument is that governance rights could become more valuable as DAOs control larger treasuries and more important infrastructure. Future decentralisation plans may also give tokens stronger roles in sequencing or security. Those changes would improve the case, but investors should value mechanisms that exist rather than functions promised on a roadmap.
The metrics will decide the case
Layer-2 tokens can still justify their valuations, but network activity alone is not enough. A stronger case requires a durable link between ownership and an essential economic function.
Investors should track four figures: the share of fees connected to the token, the percentage of supply committed to essential protocol functions, circulating-supply growth and revenue distributed to holders. If transactions and sequencer revenue rise while these measures remain flat, the network may be succeeding without strengthening the investment case for its token.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any token mentioned in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.