Optimism Vs. MetisDAO
Published September 18th, 2022
Optimism and MetisDAO are cryptocurrencies from the Optimistic and Metis Andromeda networks. Both of these networks are layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum.
It is important to understand the differences and similarities between MetisDAO and Optimism. It is also useful and convenient to understand which blockchain network excels at critical aspects such as transaction confirmation times and throughput. So what are the differences and similarities between Optimism and MetisDAO?
Optimism and MetisDAO are both Layer 2 rollup solutions for the Ethereum network, helping to alleviate congestion and reduce transaction costs. Both solutions process transactions and bundle them for Ethereum to receive. While they are EVM equivalent and share some similarities, there are key differences between the two. Optimism uses Ethereum as its native currency, while MetisDAO uses Metis coins. Optimism has better block times and faster transaction speeds, while MetisDAO has lower fees and more use cases, including the ability to create decentralized autonomous companies. Overall, both solutions provide valuable options for scaling the Ethereum network.
We talk in-depth about the Optimism network and the MetisDAO network in two of our other articles.
Optimism and MetisDAO Summarized
In short, Optimism and MetisDAO are scaling solutions for the Ethereum network. Ethereum can get congested at times making transactions expensive to process. When this happens the transactions also take a long time to process.
At peak congestion times, it could cost up to 15$ to send Ethereum from one person to another and $100 + to swap tokens on Uniswap.
The Optimism and MetisDAO blockchains help solve this by relieving the Ethereum network of some transaction load. Instead, MetisDAO and Optimism process transactions, roll them up into batches of transactions and, then post them into the Ethereum Mainnet as “Call Data”.
They post this data for a fraction of the total cost. This is why they are called Layer 2 rollup solutions.
MetisDAO and Optimism both have their own blockchains. They both rely on the data availability aspect of Ethereum, whereby all transaction data, address data and, machine state data are available to anyone.
MetisDAO and Optimism both don’t validate transactions and finalize them. That is Ethereum’s job. The job of Metis and Optimism is to simply execute transactions and bundle them for Ethereum to receive.
MetisDAO is catered to improve and build a web3 economy. As such, one of their main products is the ability to create DACs or decentralized autonomous companies. These are companies on the internet that function like regular ones but may be decentralized.
Are Optimism and MetisDAO EVM Equivalent?
EVM Equivalence means that the protocols’ virtual machine runs in the exact way that Ethereum’s virtual machine runs. Optimism and MetisDAO are both EVM Equivalent.
Since they are an extension of the Ethereum network, it would make sense that they have to operate exactly like Ethereum with respect to the environmental framework and the smart contract execution module.
EVM equivalency allows developers to deploy a smart contract on Optimism and MetisDAO as they would in Ethereum, without having to change the smart-contract code.
The Technical Differences Between MetisDAO and Optimism
MetisDAO and Optimism differ in the way that they perform. One key difference between the two is that MetisDAO uses Metis coins as its native currency, whereas Optimism uses Ethereum as the native currency. Metis coins are used to pay transaction fees on the Metis Andromeda network, and Optimism uses Ethereum to pay transaction fees on the Optimistic network.
MetisDAO has more use cases than Optimism since Metis Coins are the native currency. The only real use case of Optimism is that the tokens grant their user special governance rights. In simplicity, holding Optimism Tokens allows the owners to vote towards ecosystem project funding and towards the future of Optimism.
In the Table below, we illustrate some differences between MetisDAO and Optimism. Some of the more obvious differences are the transaction fees between Optimism and MetisDAO.
| Optimism Vs. MetisDAO, Transaction Throughput, and Fees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comparison | Optimism | MetisDAO |
| Basic Transaction Fee | 0.00002 to 0.00007 ETH | 0.0003 to 0.0005 METIS |
| Basic Transaction Fee in USD as of Sept. 2022 | $0.03 to $0.065 | $0.0075 to $0.0125 |
| Transaction Execution Time | 1-3 Seconds | 5-30 Seconds |
| Max Transactions Per Second | 2000 | 2000 |
| Consensus Mechanism | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Block Time | Every 1-3 Seconds | Every 30-40 seconds |
| Data Storage | IPFS Support | IPFS Support |
| Number of Ecosystem Developers | 150+ | About 20 to 50 |
| Foundation Team member count | 25-50 | 24-30 |
| EVM Equivalence | Yes | Yes |
| Main Use case | Governance Token | Native currency of MetisDAO, Governance, and DAC forming requirement |
Optimism has better block time and better transaction speeds. Swapping tokens on Uniswap, by extension, is faster on Optimism than on MetisDAO. Thus, Optimism as a network is faster than Metis Andromeda, the network of MetisDAO. MetisDAO on the other hand, has more affordable and lower fees than Optimism.
They both have support for IPFS decentralized storage solutions, though none of them have integrated the Filecoin protocol. Optimism and MetisDAO, as previously mentioned, have EVM equivalence. Optimism has far more ecosystem developers and more foundation team members than MetisDAO.
One of the advantages that MetisDAO has over Optimism is that it is the native currency of the Metis Andromeda network. Transaction fees are paid with Metis tokens instead of Ethereum like in Optimism.
The MetisDAO cryptocurrency also has more use cases as opposed to Optimism. They can be used for governance, as well as collateral in DeFi and they are a requirement to form DACs. DACs are a more specific type of DAO, used to create companies in a decentralized space.
How Else is Optimism and MetisDAO Different?
Optimism and MetisDAO both raised money from venture capital. Metis raised $100 Million dollars from venture capital firms for an ecosystem fund. Optimism, on the other hand, raised $150 Million in a series B financing round.
One distinction between MetisDAO and Optimism is that MetisDAO was forked from Optimism. Optimism and MetisDAO are extremely similar in this regard.
Adoption in Optimism Vs MetisDAO
Optimism and MetisDAO have seen different adoption curves. Since they are both competitors, it would be appropriate to compare them with respect to how they are adopted by the greater public.
As it stands out, at the writing of this article, Optimism has seen far more adoption. And this is well correlated with the fully diluted marketcap of Optimism and MetisDAO. The fully diluted marketcap of Optimism is close to $5 Billion compared to Metis’s $250 Million.
The Optimistic network has had 23 Million transactions submitted compared to 3.6 Million transactions on Metis. This is clearly illustrating how much more adoption Optimism has had in contrast to Metis.
Another clear indicator is how more than ten times as many accounts have been created on Optimism than on MetisDAO. The Total Value locked on the Optimism network is also 10 times as much as in Metis.
| Optimism Vs. MetisDAO, Adoption | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comparison | Optimism | MetisDAO |
| Total Transactions (as of Sept. 2022) | 23.6 Million | 3.6 Million |
| Accounts Created (as of Sept. 2022) | 1.44 Million | 91k |
| Total Value Locked (as of Sept. 2022) | 1.43 Billion USD | 120 Million USD |
| Total DApps in Ecosystem | 160+ | 30+ |
| Exchange Support | Available on Binance, Coinbase and, virtually most Exchanges. | Available on Kucoin, and Coinbase. |
| Main DEXs | Uniswap, SushiSwap and 1inch | Netswap and Tethys |
Furthermore, Optimism also has had more projects built on top of it. More than 150 projects currently have integrated the Optimism network into their product or have built on top of Optimism.
Conclusion: Which One is Better, Optimism or MetisDAO?
Optimism is clearly the faster transaction processing network, though Metis has substantially lower transaction fees. Optimism is a platform built to improve the efficiency of the Ethereum network overall.
MetisDAO on the other hand, tries to specialize in improving and growing the WEB3 economy as well as onboarding more users to it, while also being an Ethereum scaling solution.
Optimism has the speed and adoption advantage over MetisDAO. More people are using the Optimism network. Similarly, more developers are also developing more applications and improving the current applications on Optimism.
MetisDAO as a cryptocurrency, on the other hand, has more use cases than Optimism. Metis is required to form DACs, participate in governance, pay transaction fees, and can be used as collateral. Optimism tokens might be able to be used as collateral, though their main use is for voting in governance structures.