What is Optimism
Optimism (OP), also known as Optimistic Ethereum (OE), is a Layer 2 solution built to address the scalability issues of the Ethereum network. At its core, Optimism utilizes a technology known as optimistic rollups. This technology bundles, or rolls up, multiple transactions into a single transaction, significantly improving the speed and cost of transactions. As Optimism is built on top of Ethereumâs architecture, developers and users can make use of the speedy and low-cost transactions whilst having the security of the Ethereum blockchain.Â
The Optimism team
The Optimism team comprises a group of dedicated blockchain experts, including Jaynti Kanani, Jinglan Wang, Ilya Polosukhin, Ben Jones, Paul Hauner, and Matteo Rizzi.
How does Optimism work
When a user initiates a transaction, it's executed on the Optimism network rather than directly on the Ethereum mainnet. Throughout this process, Optimism maintains communication with Ethereum's Layer 1 and leaves the original network unchanged. This is achieved through optimistic rollups, which consolidate multiple transactions into a single batch submitted to Ethereum.Â
By adopting this approach, the computational burden on the Ethereum mainnet is lessened, resulting in faster transaction speeds and lower gas fees. Ultimately, Optimism plays a pivotal role in alleviating strain on the Ethereum network, consequently reducing congestion and associated high fees.
Optimismâs native token: OP
OP is the token of the Optimism ecosystem, crucial in securing and powering the Optimism network. The token also serves as incentivizes and rewards for validators who correctly process and confirm transactions. Validators are able to stake OP tokens as collateral, which can be confiscated if they act maliciously.
OP tokenomics
There is a maximum supply of 4,294,967,296 OP tokens. The supply of OP tokens is carefully controlled and released into the market via strategic allocation methods such as staking rewards, developer incentives and ecosystem grants. This approach ensures a balanced and sustainable.
