OP currently has a circulating supply of ~250m.
There are an additional ~750m tokens unlocked that either have not been claimed for airdrops, or have not yet been allocated by the ecosystem fund.
In 2023, ~450m OP tokens unlock for early contributors and investors (Sugar Xaddies)
Before the investors and Sugar Xaddies begin vesting, an additional ~400m OP tokens will be unlocked for airdrops and the ecosystem and public goods funds(RPGF).
It's pretty clear that the circulating supply (currently approximately 250m OP) will balloon by the end of 2023 and further.
Optimism has less TVL than competitors Arbitrum and Polygon. But the difference is not much that would be easily flipped by 1~2 whales fund providing.
At this early moment of blockchain, TVL doesn’t have much meaning that is very easily manipulated by VCs, data provider and some of exchnages.
With the impending launch of ZKSync and other L2 entrants, Optimism is about to get challenges from new chains. No clear functional role clarification among ETH and all EVM L2 up to now.
It is not good that many high potential chains and coins take big challenge and attacks from many influencers and exchanges. Those high potential real value chains generally do not provide hidden benefits to exchanges or influencers.