How Do L2 Tokens Work? ARB, OP, and STRK Explained

L2 native tokens like ARB (Arbitrum), OP (Optimism), and STRK (Starknet) primarily function as governance instruments — giving holders voting rights over protocol upgrades, treasury spending, and grant programs — rather than as the gas token used to pay transaction fees on their respective networks, which in each case remains ETH.

That distinction trips up a lot of newcomers, so it's worth being precise about what these tokens do and don't do before looking at how each ecosystem uses them.

What these tokens are not

None of ARB, OP, or STRK is required to pay for gas on its home network in the way ETH is required on Ethereum mainnet. Users pay transaction fees on Arbitrum, Optimism, and Starknet primarily in ETH (Starknet has also enabled fee payment in STRK and other assets via account abstraction, but ETH remains widely used). This matters because it decouples the token's price from the network's basic usability — you don't need to hold or acquire the governance token just to transact.

What Arbitrum's ARB token actually does

ARB holders can vote on proposals in the Arbitrum DAO, which controls a large treasury and has authority over protocol-level decisions: software upgrades to Arbitrum One and Nova, changes to the sequencer, grant funding for ecosystem projects, and the makeup of an elected Security Council that can act quickly in emergencies. Delegation is central to how this works in practice — most token holders delegate their voting power to representatives who research and vote on proposals full-time, rather than voting on every proposal themselves. Our deeper look at Arbitrum DAO governance walks through this process in detail.

What Optimism's OP token actually does

OP works similarly for governance but with a distinctive twist: Optimism's "Collective" governance model splits power between a Token House (OP holders, who vote on protocol upgrades and incentive allocation) and a Citizens' House (a separate body intended to allocate funding based on public-goods impact rather than pure token voting power, aiming to counterbalance plutocratic governance). OP is also central to Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF), which distributes value to contributors who already built things that benefited the ecosystem, rather than funding proposals in advance. See our explainer on Optimism's retroactive funding for how that mechanism works.

What Starknet's STRK token actually does

STRK plays a governance role similar to ARB and OP, but Starknet has also used it more directly in network operations: staking STRK is part of the plan for decentralizing block production and proving on the network, and account abstraction (a native feature of Starknet's account model) allows STRK to be used for gas payment through paymaster-style mechanisms, alongside ETH. This is part of a broader move toward gas token abstraction across L2 ecosystems — see our piece on paying L2 fees in any token for how that works more generally.

Comparing the three

Token	Primary role	Gas payment	Distinct governance feature
ARB (Arbitrum)	DAO governance & treasury voting	ETH (primary)	Elected Security Council for emergencies
OP (Optimism)	Token House governance & incentives	ETH (primary)	Split governance with Citizens' House; funds RetroPGF
STRK (Starknet)	Governance; staking; gas payment option	ETH or STRK via account abstraction	Tied to validator/prover staking as network decentralizes

Why governance tokens matter beyond voting

Even for users who never vote, these tokens shape the networks in ways that affect everyone. Treasury decisions determine how much gets spent on grants, security audits, and ecosystem incentives. Fee-related votes can change the economics of using the chain. Security Council composition affects how emergencies (like a critical bug) get handled. Following governance forums, even passively, gives useful signal about a network's direction — arguably more useful than tracking token price, since these are utility and governance instruments rather than claims on the chain's own revenue in the way, say, liquid staking tokens represent a claim on staking rewards.

What they're not entitled to

Holding ARB, OP, or STRK does not entitle you to a share of sequencer revenue, protocol fees, or any cash-flow-like distribution by default — governance tokens of this type are not equity, and framing them that way overstates what they legally and mechanically provide. Sequencer revenue on these networks generally accrues to the foundation or DAO treasury, which token holders can then vote to direct (toward grants, buybacks, or other uses), rather than being paid out automatically to holders. Always check a project's own governance documentation before assuming otherwise, since mechanisms do evolve.

Bottom line

ARB, OP, and STRK are governance and coordination tools for their respective ecosystems — voting on upgrades, treasury spend, and (in Starknet's case) staking and fee flexibility — not required gas tokens and not automatic profit-sharing instruments. If you're evaluating an L2 for building or transacting, judge it on its Layer 2 architecture, fees, and security model first; treat the native token's governance rights as a separate, secondary consideration.