Optimism
Rank #12 by TVL HealthyL2EVMOptimistic RollupOptimismETHMainnetA Layer 2 (L2) blockchain built on Ethereum as an Optimistic Rollup. Designed to scale computation and reduce fees by moving transactions off the main network and verifying them through a fraud-proof system. Its key differentiator from competitors is a modular architecture and a proprietary proof format with minimal trust in the operator. At launch, the network supported the ERC-20 standard for EVM compatibility. The network was launched in December 2021 under the name Optimism (originally OVM - Optimistic Virtual Machine). The main developers are the founders of the Optimism Foundation: Karl Floersch (former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation) and Jinglan Wang (co-founder of Prysmatic Labs). The project raised over $178 million in Series A and B rounds from Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, and other funds. Key milestones: the "Bedrock" upgrade (June 2023) - transition to a modular design, reduced fees, and faster finality; launch of the OP Stack - an open set of components for building custom L2s (later used by Coinbase for the Base network). The network positions itself as the most Ethereum-compatible rollup, supporting all smart contracts without modification. As of Aug 3, 2026 , Optimism ranks among the leading L2s by total value locked. Technical Architecture Classification: L2 blockchain of the Optimistic Rollup type. Consensus Optimistic Rollup inherits security from Ethereum by submitting state roots and transaction batches to L1. Virtual machine - EVM (modified EVM with support for optimistic execution). Performance: up to — transactions per second, block time — , average fee — . Number of validators (sequencers) - — . Architectural Features Key component - OP Stack: a set of modules (sequencer, batcher, bridges, oracles). The network uses L1 multicall contracts to save on gas. The "Bedrock" upgrade replaced the old OVM with a standard EVM, simplifying development. A fraud-proof system with a minimal challenge period (about one week) was also implemented. Native Currency Token ETH - OP (ERC-20). The supply is capped; part of the tokens were distributed through airdrops (first - May 31, 2022, for 250 million OP). Role: governance via Optimism Governance (voting on network parameters and incentive distribution). Gas is paid in ETH on L1, L2 fees are charged in ETH and partially burned. Ecosystem and dApps Network TVL - $1.05B (rank 12 ). Activity: — transactions per day, — active addresses. Leading protocols: Uniswap, Synthetix (first major project on Optimism), Aave , Velodrome (decentralized exchange). Stablecoins: USDC (native via Circle), DAI. Optimism Grants program (launched in 2022, budget of 30 million OP for the first phase). In 2023, the RetroPGF (retroactive public goods funding) mechanism was launched. Security and Incidents In April 2023, the network was halted for several hours due to a validator configuration error (quickly fixed). Major security incident: a bridge exploit in February 2022 for approximately $2 million (attack via incorrect L1-L2 message handling). The team quickly froze and recovered part of the funds. Audits were conducted by Trail of Bits and OpenZeppelin. A bug bounty program is active (up to $1 million). Related Individuals Karl Floersch (co-founder) - former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, worked on Casper and sharding. Initiator of the OVM development. Jinglan Wang (co-founder) - MIT graduate, co-founder of Prysmatic Labs (Ethereum client). Responsible for developing the Open Source community. Ben Jones (Head of Research) - PhD, published works on smart contract verification. At Optimism, focused on fraud-proof design. Legal entity - Optimism Unlimited, Inc. (USA). Related organizations: Optimism Foundation (Swiss non-profit foundation), partners - Coinbase ( Base ), Worldcoin . Potential The modularity of the OP Stack allows launching satellite L2s (superchains) with a shared bridge and liquidity, improving ecosystem scalability. Integration with EIP-4844 (blob data) in 2024-2025 could radically reduce fees. The RetroPGF program incentivizes infrastructure development. The network actively promotes the idea of "Ethereum as a settlement layer" for multiple Optimistic Rollups. Risks [Identified by Finkonkurs AI analytics system] Sequencer centralization: until the transition to a decentralized sequencer (planned), a single point of failure in managing transaction order. Withdrawal time: approximately 7 days for secure withdrawal due to the fraud-proof challenge period. Competitive pressure: from zk-Rollups (Arbitrum, zkSync, StarkNet ), which offer lower latency and faster finality. Tokenomic risk: high inflation of OP (about 2% per year) and potential token concentration among early investors, affecting governance. Regulatory risk: uncertainty regarding the classification of the OP token (may be considered a security in jurisdictions with strict rules). Technical debt: dependence on Ethereum L1 (hard fork upgrades may require adaptation from Optimism).
OP Price Prediction: Dead Cat or Real Bounce — $0.08 Is the Line in the Sand
OP Price Prediction: Sub-$0.09 and Sinking — Is $0.08 the Last Line of Defense?
OP Price Prediction: $0.08 Floor or Dead Cat — Here's Which Way OP Breaks in the Next Two Weeks
Offchain Labs CEO makes the case for Arbitrum’s licensing model as Base walks away from Optimism revenue sharing
Ethereum Layer 2 Total Value Locked Shrinks to $5 Billion
Frightening Picture in Ethereum Layer-2s: Back to 2 Years Ago with $5 Billion
OP Price Prediction: $0.08 or Bust — One Support Level Stands Between Recovery and Collapse
Gold holds gain as Trump sounds optimism over US-Iran talks
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US stocks stabilize as oil prices drop on peace talk optimism
| # | App | Cat. | TVL | 7d Δ | Users 24h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Lending | $175.63M | +4.03% | — |
| 2 |  | CEX | $157.45M | +0.10% | — |
| 3 |  | Onchain Capital Allocator | $150.46M | +14.13% | — |
| 4 |  | Crypto Card Issuer | $148.19M | -3.25% | — |
| 5 |  | CEX | $54.14M | -0.92% | — |
| 6 |  | Lending | $53.54M | +5.25% | — |
| 7 |  | Derivatives | $26.21M | +2.56% | — |
| 8 |  | RWA | $26.12M | +0.68% | — |
Validator Distribution
Per-validator stake share, Nakamoto coefficient and concentration metrics.
Network Roadmap
Upcoming upgrades, hard forks and governance proposals for this network.
Bridge Flows
Real-time inflow, outflow and net bridge volume across all connected chains.
RPC details
Tokens on this network
View all| # | Name | Price | 24h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $62.57K | −1.30% |
| 2 |  | $1.85K | −1.40% |
| 3 |  | $0.9992 | +0.00% |
| 4 |  | $581.73 | −0.40% |
| 5 |  | $0.9996 | +0.00% |
| 6 |  | $1.07 | −1.30% |
| 7 |  | $72.55 | −1.30% |
| 8 |  | $0.3259 | −0.50% |
| 9 |  | $1.00 | −3.10% |
| 10 |  | $52.26 | −0.20% |
| 11 |  | $0.0694 | −1.40% |
| 12 |  | $1.00 | +0.00% |
Activities
News
View allOP Price Prediction: Dead Cat or Real Bounce — $0.08 Is the Line in the Sand
Blockchain.News4 min readOP Price Prediction: Sub-$0.09 and Sinking — Is $0.08 the Last Line of Defense?
Blockchain.News4 min readOP Price Prediction: $0.08 Floor or Dead Cat — Here's Which Way OP Breaks in the Next Two Weeks
Blockchain.News4 min readAboutOptimism
OverviewA Layer 2 (L2) blockchain built on Ethereum as an Optimistic Rollup. Designed to scale computation and reduce fees by moving transactions off the main network and verifying them through a fraud-proof system. Its key differentiator from competitors is a modular architecture and a proprietary proof format with minimal trust in the operator. At launch, the network supported the ERC-20 standard for EVM compatibility.
The network was launched in December 2021 under the name Optimism (originally OVM - Optimistic Virtual Machine). The main developers are the founders of the Optimism Foundation: Karl Floersch (former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation) and Jinglan Wang (co-founder of Prysmatic Labs). The project raised over $178 million in Series A and B rounds from Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, and other funds.
Key milestones: the "Bedrock" upgrade (June 2023) - transition to a modular design, reduced fees, and faster finality; launch of the OP Stack - an open set of components for building custom L2s (later used by Coinbase for the Base network). The network positions itself as the most Ethereum-compatible rollup, supporting all smart contracts without modification. As of Aug 3, 2026, Optimism ranks among the leading L2s by total value locked.
Technical Architecture
Classification: L2 blockchain of the Optimistic Rollup type. Consensus Optimistic Rollup inherits security from Ethereum by submitting state roots and transaction batches to L1. Virtual machine - EVM (modified EVM with support for optimistic execution). Performance: up to — transactions per second, block time —, average fee —. Number of validators (sequencers) - —.
Architectural Features
Key component - OP Stack: a set of modules (sequencer, batcher, bridges, oracles). The network uses L1 multicall contracts to save on gas. The "Bedrock" upgrade replaced the old OVM with a standard EVM, simplifying development. A fraud-proof system with a minimal challenge period (about one week) was also implemented.
Native Currency
Token ETH - OP (ERC-20). The supply is capped; part of the tokens were distributed through airdrops (first - May 31, 2022, for 250 million OP). Role: governance via Optimism Governance (voting on network parameters and incentive distribution). Gas is paid in ETH on L1, L2 fees are charged in ETH and partially burned.
Ecosystem and dApps
Network TVL - $1.05B (rank 12). Activity: — transactions per day, — active addresses. Leading protocols: Uniswap, Synthetix (first major project on Optimism), Aave, Velodrome (decentralized exchange). Stablecoins: USDC (native via Circle), DAI. Optimism Grants program (launched in 2022, budget of 30 million OP for the first phase). In 2023, the RetroPGF (retroactive public goods funding) mechanism was launched.
Security and Incidents
In April 2023, the network was halted for several hours due to a validator configuration error (quickly fixed). Major security incident: a bridge exploit in February 2022 for approximately $2 million (attack via incorrect L1-L2 message handling). The team quickly froze and recovered part of the funds. Audits were conducted by Trail of Bits and OpenZeppelin. A bug bounty program is active (up to $1 million).
Related Individuals
- Karl Floersch (co-founder) - former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, worked on Casper and sharding. Initiator of the OVM development.
- Jinglan Wang (co-founder) - MIT graduate, co-founder of Prysmatic Labs (Ethereum client). Responsible for developing the Open Source community.
- Ben Jones (Head of Research) - PhD, published works on smart contract verification. At Optimism, focused on fraud-proof design.
Legal entity - Optimism Unlimited, Inc. (USA). Related organizations: Optimism Foundation (Swiss non-profit foundation), partners - Coinbase (Base), Worldcoin.
Potential
The modularity of the OP Stack allows launching satellite L2s (superchains) with a shared bridge and liquidity, improving ecosystem scalability. Integration with EIP-4844 (blob data) in 2024-2025 could radically reduce fees. The RetroPGF program incentivizes infrastructure development. The network actively promotes the idea of "Ethereum as a settlement layer" for multiple Optimistic Rollups.
Risks [Identified by Finkonkurs AI analytics system]
- Sequencer centralization: until the transition to a decentralized sequencer (planned), a single point of failure in managing transaction order.
- Withdrawal time: approximately 7 days for secure withdrawal due to the fraud-proof challenge period.
- Competitive pressure: from zk-Rollups (Arbitrum, zkSync, StarkNet), which offer lower latency and faster finality.
- Tokenomic risk: high inflation of OP (about 2% per year) and potential token concentration among early investors, affecting governance.
- Regulatory risk: uncertainty regarding the classification of the OP token (may be considered a security in jurisdictions with strict rules).
- Technical debt: dependence on Ethereum L1 (hard fork upgrades may require adaptation from Optimism).
FAQ
What is Optimism?
It is a Layer 2 (L2) blockchain for Ethereum built on Optimistic Rollups technology. The network processes transactions off the main chain and then submits batches to Ethereum, significantly reducing load and fees. The protocol is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to easily migrate their applications.
What is the network's native coin?
The native coin is ETH (Ether), used to pay transaction fees and interact with smart contracts. The network also has its own governance token, OP, which allows holders to vote on protocol upgrades.
What is the network's TVL?
The total value locked (TVL) in the network's protocols is $1.05B, placing it 12 among all blockchains. The main contributions come from decentralized exchanges and lending protocols.
How fast and cheap is the network?
The network processes up to — transactions per second, with an average block time of —. The fee for a standard transfer is about —, which is tens of times cheaper than on the Ethereum mainnet.
How secure is the network?
Security is ensured by Ethereum's consensus and the fraud proof mechanism. Validators monitor transaction correctness and can challenge a block if an error is detected. There have been no major hacks in its history, though in 2022, the Velodrome protocol suffered a $350,000 exploit due to a smart contract bug.
How does Optimism differ from other L2 solutions?
Unlike Arbitrum, Optimism uses a single virtual machine design (OVM) that simplifies code migration from Ethereum. The network also emphasizes a modular architecture and recently implemented the Bedrock upgrade, which improved compatibility and reduced fees.