Optimism

Optimism provides a layer-2 protocol and smart contract platform that uses optimistic rollup technology to execute transactions in batches off-chain and then posts the results to Ethereum network to be validated. Optimistic rollup is considered optimistic, as it assumes off-chain transactions are valid and does not publish proofs of validity for transaction batches posted on chain. It also uses compression techniques to reduce the amount of data posted onto Ethereum. Optimism claims to be able to execute ~2,000 transactions per second and its use cases range from DeFi, NFTs, bridges, exchanges, wallets, tools, and DAOs. Optimism’s software runs on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which allows Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens to be transferred and used for transactions on its platform.

Optimism launched its "Bedrock" update in June 2023, optimizing its technology stack for modularity. This update enables third-party developers to create customizable layer 2 networks on top of the OP stack. Following this, the company introduced Superchain, which merges the OP Mainnet and other chains into a single, unified network of OP Chains. Additionally, the Superchain supports integration with layer-3 app chains and allows developers to set custom gas fees and choose their data availability layer.

In April 2022, the company revealed the Optimism Collective, an experimental DAO to govern Optimism. The Optimism Collective is a two-tier governance system composed of Token House and Citizens’ House. The Token House governs technical decisions related to Optimism, such as protocol upgrades and project incentives, while The Citizens’ House will facilitate and govern the process to distribute retroactive public goods funding generated from the revenue collected by the network to help build the community.

Optimism launched its native token, OP, through an airdrop in May 2021. The token allows holders to participate in the Token House. The initial airdrop amounted to 5% of the total ~4.3 billion supply of OP tokens with 25% of it being distributed amongst the ecosystem fund, followed by 20% distributed toward the retroactive public goods funds, 19% each to users and core contributors, and 17% to investors.

Key customers and partnerships

In June 2023 , the company partnered with Binance to launch a layer-2 scaling network–opBNB–for its BNB Chain, which was built using Optimism's OP stack.

Funding and financials

In March 2022, Optimism raised USD 150 million in Series B funding, co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Paradigm at a valuation of ~USD 1.7 billion. The funds will be geared toward product development and recruitment. In addition, the company conducted a private sale of approximately 19.5 million OP tokens valued at USD 89 million to an undisclosed buyer in March 2024. These tokens come from the unallocated portion of the OP Token treasury, with the buyer able to delegate the tokens to unaffiliated third parties for participation in governance decisions, giving the same benefits as an unvested holder.