Data glossary

This glossary is a living document that will be updated over time as new metrics emerge or definitions evolve. Each metric includes its definition, calculation method, and importance to the ecosystem.

Measuring demand

Transaction Fees Paid

Metric: Real Economic Value (REV)

Definition: The total fees paid to execute a transaction onchain. This includes both the traditional gas fees required for inclusion onchain and additional fees paid to transaction execution services (e.g., Jito, Flashbots, Timeboost).

Calculation:

REV = Gas Fees + Out-Of-Protocol Tips

Why it matters: REV serves as a topline metric that "measures the monetary demand to transact onchain" (Blockworks). It acts as a proxy for users' willingness to pay, capturing all transaction fees to better reflect real demand while excluding app-level fees like DEX swap costs.

Revenue

Metric: Estimated Optimism Collective Revenue (Collective Revenue)

Definition: The amount of ETH expected to be earned by the Optimism Collective from revenue sharing across the Superchain.

Calculation: For each chain, the collective revenue is the greater of:

max(2.5% × Chain Revenue, 15% × Net Onchain Profit)

Special case: OP Mainnet contributes 100% of net Onchain profit

Key Components:

• Net Onchain Profit:

  Net Onchain Profit = Chain Revenue - L1 Gas Fees

• Chain Revenue:

  Chain Revenue = L1 Data Fee + L2 Base Fee + L2 Priority Fee + L2 Operator Fee

  (Includes any additional fee types added in the future)

• L1 Gas Fees: Total gas fees spent by the chain on L1, including:

  • Transaction batches (including blob costs)
  • State output submissions or dispute games

Transaction classification:

• Transaction batches: Transactions where:

  • from address = batcherHash address
  • to address = batchInbox address
  • Both are defined in the chain's SystemConfigProxy contract

• State output submissions/dispute games: Transactions where:

  • from address = Proposer
  • to address = outputOracleProxy OR disputeGameFactoryProxy
  • Both are defined in the chain's SystemConfigProxy contract Each chain's SystemConfigProxy contract can be found in the Superchain Registry

Why it matters: This represents what the Optimism Collective earns by operating the Superchain, which can be directed by governance to support ecosystem growth. See How (and why) the Superchain drives fees to the Optimism Collective (opens in a new tab) (Optimism blog, Aug 2024).

Onchain Signals

Value Onchain

Metric: Total Value Locked (TVL)

Definition: The total USD value of all assets held in smart contracts across the protocol, as defined by DefiLlama.

Calculation:

TVL = Σ (USD value of assets locked)

Why it matters: TVL represents the supply side of onchain economic activity, particularly for protocols such as Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) and lending markets. Strong TVL in strategic locations enables greater onchain demand.

Measuring growth: Net TVL Flows

Since TVL is influenced by market fluctuations, it can be misleading for measuring true growth. Net TVL Flows adjusts for this by tracking net changes in token balances at current prices.

Calculation:

Net TVL Flows = (tokens on day N - tokens on day 0) × price on day N

Example:

• Day 0: 100,000 ETH locked at $2,000/ETH = $200M TVL
• Day N: 90,000 ETH locked at $3,000/ETH = $270M TVL

Analysis:

• Net TVL Flows = −10,000 ETH × $3,000 = $30M net outflows
• Naive TVL change would suggest growth: $200M → $270M

Network usage & infrastructure

Computational demand

Metric: Gas Used per Second (gas/s)

Definition: Gas refers to the unit that measures the amount of computational effort required to execute specific operations on Ethereum (opens in a new tab). Gas Used is tracked as an average rate per second for simplicity.

Why it matters: Gas (also called blockspace) is the limited resource that blockchains provide. Gas usage shows how much of that resource is actually being consumed, indicating network utilization and demand.

User Experience (UX)

Metric: Median Transaction Fee (USD)

Definition: The median gas fee paid to submit a transaction, expressed in USD for simplicity and cross-ecosystem comparison.

Calculation:

Median Fee = median(All transaction fees over period)

Converted to USD at transaction time

Why it matters: This metric serves as a proxy for transaction cost accessibility. Lower median fees:

• Enable broader usage by reducing friction
• Lower breakeven costs for applications
• Unlock use cases that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive

Market position

Market share

Definition: The Superchain's share of any given metric within a broader market segment (e.g., L2 ecosystem, total crypto market).

Calculation:

Market share = (Superchain Metric Value / Total Market Metric Value)

Why it matters: Market share helps isolate whether growth is driven by Superchain-specific factors or broader market trends:

• Rising share → Superchain is outperforming the market
• Declining share → Other ecosystems are growing faster
• Stable share → Growth is proportional to market trends

Metrics summary