Layer2 Ecosystem Weekly Report (Issue 1 · Week 30, 2026)

01Recent Developments in the Sector This Week

As of 2026-07-21, the Layer2 sector has shown characteristics this week of simultaneous technological advancements and ecological fluctuations.

1. Upgrades to StarkNet’s privacy infrastructure: On 07-15, StarkNet officially released the STRK20 privacy framework along with corresponding SDKs, enabling developers to build private balance management and DeFi interaction functions. Launched on 07-14, this framework offers one-click transfers to privacy pools and developer SDK interfaces, aiming to reduce the costs associated with integrating privacy features into ecosystems.

2. ARB token unlocking and capital dynamics: On 07-16, Arbitrum unlocked 92.65 million ARB tokens, worth approximately $8.53 million. Despite the increase in supply, rising long positions in derivatives and favorable fee flows from Robinhood Chain indicate that market confidence remains optimistic.

3. Severe volatility in the Base chain ecosystem: On 07-19, BRIAN, a meme coin on the Base chain, saw its market value plummet by 86% to $1.5 million in a single day due to changes in the Coinbase CEO’s profile image. Trading volume during that period reached $13.2 million.

02Core protocol data

As of July 21, 2026, the prices of key tokens in the Layer2 sector have shown divergent trends. ARB is currently trading at $0.09031, with a 24h increase of 2.4% and a trading volume of $51.2M, indicating relatively stable performance. OP is priced at $0.09359, down 0.7% over 24 hours, with a trading volume of $41.5M, suggesting short-term pressure. STRK trades at $0.02913, up 1.8% in 24 hours, but with a lower trading volume of $10.7M, reflecting relatively low activity.

In terms of sector strength indices, DEX (6.6), oracles (6.3), and cross-chain solutions (6.2) are among the most popular sectors, providing essential liquidity support for the L2 ecosystem. Although STRK continues to improve its infrastructure, such as privacy frameworks, its token price remains relatively stable, indicating that the market is still reassessing its fundamental value. The price decline of OP may be influenced by intensified competition in the stablecoin space and rising compliance costs. Circle’s financial reports, revealing $1.4 billion in distribution costs and a sharp drop in stock prices, have led to a reevaluation of its valuation, indirectly reducing risk appetite for related L2 assets. In contrast, ARB has demonstrated strong market resilience despite token unlocking pressures, thanks to increasing long positions in derivatives and expectations of revenue from ecosystem fees. Overall, the L2 sector is shifting from purely technical discussions to a phase focused on verifying actual capital flows and profitability. Investors should pay attention to the real progress made by various protocols in terms of compliance implementation and commercialization.

03Progress of ecological projects

2026-07-21

In terms of ecosystem development, StarkNet released the STRK20 privacy framework along with its accompanying SDK on 07-15, enabling developers to create functions for private balance management and interaction with DeFi applications. This framework was officially launched on 07-14, offering one-click transfers to privacy pools as well as developer SDK interfaces, thereby reducing the costs associated with integrating privacy features into ecosystems. Arbitrum unlocked 92.65 million ARB tokens on 07-16, worth approximately $8.53 million; the increase in long-position holdings in derivatives indicates that market sentiment remains optimistic. The Base chain meme coin BRIAN saw its market value drop by around 86% in a single day to $1.5 million on 07-19, following the change in Coinbase’s CEO’s profile picture, with trading volume reaching $13.2 million during that period.

04KOL Public Opinion and Narratives

As of the benchmark date of 2026-07-21, the public opinion among KOLs in the Layer2 ecosystem exhibits significant information noise and divergent viewpoints. Regarding the OP ecosystem, current monitoring data shows that 1 KOL holds a bullish stance, accounting for 100.0%, but this view lacks specific narrative support; market sentiment is rather driven by macroeconomic trends and cross-chain developments.

The prevailing narratives currently do not focus on technological advancements in Layer2 but are instead shaped by broader geopolitical issues and movements in traditional finance. KOL @marionawfal has been frequently posting content related to geopolitical events such as U.S. Secretary of State Rubio’s attendance at the ASEAN summit and military tensions between Iran and the United States, suggesting that external uncertainties could disrupt the crypto market. Meanwhile, @larkdavis pointed out that the People’s Bank of China increased its gold holdings by 480,000 ounces in June, continuing a 20-month buying streak. This trend in traditional safe-haven assets has been interpreted by some as a sign of tightening macro liquidity, indirectly dampening sentiment toward risk assets.

Although the Layer2 sector lacks independent KOL-driven narratives, market highlights include the validation of RWA tokenization by traditional financial giants, capital struggles among Whales, and developments on the Robinhood Chain. While OP has one bullish KOL, amid the combination of macroeconomic risk-aversion trends and geopolitical risks, the overall narrative for the Layer2 sector remains stagnant. As a result, investors tend to rely more on macro indicators rather than on-chain data when assessing short-term trends.

05Track Outlook

Benchmark Date: 2026-07-21

The Layer2 sector is at a critical juncture, transitioning from a “scaling narrative” to “verifiable real capital flow.” Although the market sentiment index sits in the fearful range of 41/100, the technical ratings of leading L2 tokens (OP 77, ARB 78) are significantly higher than their fundamental ratings (OP 35, ARB 38), indicating a divergence between short-term trading enthusiasm and long-term value support. In the next 1–4 weeks, the core focus of this sector will revolve around the restructuring of stablecoin profit models and the implementation of on-chain privacy infrastructure.

• Circle is advancing its long-term Arc plan to mitigate stock price volatility, with USDC circulation remaining at $73 billion. This solid foundation provides stable liquidity for the L2 ecosystem. Despite Coinbase’s distribution costs consuming over half of Circle’s revenue, stablecoins continue to play a key role as the primary settlement layer in L2.
• On 2026-07-15, StarkNet launched the STRK20 privacy framework and SDK, reducing the integration costs for privacy-focused DeFi applications. The modular approach to privacy features is expected to attract high-net-worth individuals and institutional funds sensitive to data privacy, thereby increasing the retention rate of assets on the chain.
• After unlocking 92.65 million ARB tokens on 2026-07-16, Arbitrum saw an increase in long-position holdings in derivatives. This suggests strong market capacity to absorb selling pressure, and positive factors such as reduced fees on Robinhood Chain have further boosted investor confidence.

! Circle’s stock price has fallen by 76% overall, prompting Mizuho to downgrade it to a “underperform” rating. A reassessment of the valuation of stablecoin issuers may raise concerns about the pace of capital inflows into the L2 ecosystem, especially as competitors like Open USD intensify their competition for market share. ! The meme coin BRIAN on the Base chain experienced a 86% plunge in market value on 2026-07-20. Such sharp fluctuations highlight the vulnerability of speculative assets in the L2 ecosystem; without real-world application support, on-chain activity could decline rapidly.

Multiple Scenario Projections (Next 1–4 Weeks):

• Optimistic Scenario: Privacy DeFi applications are rapidly deployed using the STRK20 framework, driving a significant recovery in transaction volume on the STRK chain. Meanwhile, Arbitrum successfully manages the impact of unlocked tokens, with ARB prices approaching key resistance levels above its technical support zones. Market sentiment improves, leading to an overall recovery in the valuation of the L2 sector.
• Neutral Scenario: The competitive landscape among stablecoins remains unchanged, with USDC circulation staying stable. L2 token prices fluctuate within their current ranges, with OP and ARB moving in line with broader market trends without showing distinct independent movements. The rollout of privacy features progresses slowly, resulting in no significant shift in capital flows.
• Pessimistic Scenario: Circle’s valuation reassessment triggers a chain reaction, slowing down the inflow of capital into L2 via stablecoins. The collapse of speculative meme coins drags down on-chain activity, causing ARB and OP prices to fall below critical support levels, further deteriorating market sentiment.

Key Monitoring Points:

1. Observe changes in the TVL of privacy DeFi protocols and developer activity within the StarkNet ecosystem following the launch of the STRK20 framework.
2. Track net on-chain inflows to Arbitrum after the token unlocks to determine whether long-position holdings translate into actual buying activity.
3. Monitor the competition between Circle and Open USD to assess their potential impact on the supply of stablecoins in the L2 ecosystem.

06Related Reads

1. “StarkNet推出隐私框架STRK20，开放SDK”
2. “StarkNet上线STRK20隐私框架，实现一键资产保护”
3. “9265万枚ARB解锁，多头能否消化抛压？”
4. “Base链模因币BRIAN市值24小时暴跌86%”
5. “USDC供应量居首但利润遭侵蚀：Circle付出的14亿美元代价”
6. “Circle股价暴跌76%：稳定币面临从牌照优势到实际资金流考验的转变”
7. “Circle CEO回应股价下跌76%：推进Arc计划将推动股价回升”
8. “瑞穗下调Circle评级至表现不佳，目标价降至50美元”