Optimism (OP), the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution, has experienced a severe market downturn, plunging 21.1% in the past 24 hours to trade at $0.148134 as of 7:21 AM UTC on February 19, 2026.
The dramatic selloff pushed OP perilously close to its all-time low of $0.150826, recorded just hours earlier at 6:26 AM UTC today, representing a staggering 96.9% decline from its all-time high of $4.84 reached in March 2024.
Market Impact and Trading Volume
The sharp decline has erased over $83.2 million from Optimism’s market capitalization in 24 hours, bringing its total market cap down to $314.8 million. This places OP at rank #128 among all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Trading volume surged to $126.9 million, indicating significant market activity as holders rushed to exit positions. The token’s fully diluted valuation now stands at $638.4 million, based on its maximum supply of 4.29 billion tokens.
Extended Bearish Momentum
The current crash is part of a broader downtrend affecting Optimism:
- 24-hour decline: -21.1%
- 7-day decline: -18.8%
- 30-day decline: -53.4%
- 1-hour movement: -2.3%
The token traded in a range between $0.148314 (low) and $0.189158 (high) over the past 24 hours, with selling pressure intensifying throughout the period.
What This Means for L2 Ecosystem
Optimism is a major Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution that processes transactions off the main Ethereum chain to reduce costs and increase speed. The severe price decline raises questions about investor confidence in L2 solutions amid broader market uncertainty.
With approximately 2.12 billion OP tokens in circulation out of a maximum supply of 4.29 billion, the token represents roughly 49% of its total supply currently in the market. The proximity to all-time lows suggests capitulation among long-term holders.
Market analysts note that the Layer-2 sector has faced headwinds as competition intensifies among multiple scaling solutions, including Arbitrum, Base, and zkSync. However, the magnitude of OP’s decline exceeds typical sector movements, suggesting token-specific factors may be at play.
This is a developing story. Market conditions remain highly volatile.
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About the Author: Ananya Melhotra
