Crypto Basics

What is Optimism (OP)?

  • 25 Jan, 2024

  • 2 Min read

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What is Optimism (OP)?

Optimism, formerly known as Plasma Group, is an L2 solution for Ethereum for facilitating faster and cheaper transactions.

The project was founded by Kevin Ho, Karl Floersch and Jinglan Wang.

Optimism - in their own words

Optimism (OP) is a layer-two blockchain on top of Ethereum. Optimism benefits from the security of the Ethereum mainnet and helps scale the Ethereum ecosystem by using optimistic rollups. That means transactions are trustlessly recorded on Optimism but ultimately secured on Ethereum.

Optimism is one of the biggest scaling solutions for Ethereum with over $500 million in TVL. It is home to 97 protocols, the biggest being Synthetix (SNX), a derivatives exchange, Uniswap (UNI), a DEX, and Velodrome (VELO), an AMM. Users can begin their journey on Optimism by adding the chain on their Metamask and bridging tokens like ETH to the L2. On May 31, 2022, Optimism conducted a highly anticipated airdrop of its OP token.

OP utility?

OP is the network’s governance token. The project is run by the Optimism Collective, which has stated it will be governed co-equally by two houses, Citizens’ House and the Token House. 

What does this mean for USDC?

Optimism USDC is easily accessible for exchanges, fintechs, institutional traders, and developers via the Circle Account and Circle APIs, enabling several use cases:

  • Near instantaneous programmatic payments, anywhere in the world
  • Trading, borrowing, lending etc. through blockchain applications
  • Payments for e-commerce, NFT marketplaces, gaming, and more

When using the Optimism Network, users also benefit from the faster transactions and lower fees associated with a layer 2 blockchain protocol. For more on Optimism, check out their blog here.


NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE

Please note that Uphold and its affiliates do not provide investment, tax, or legal advice. This message is for informational purposes only and takes no account of particular personal or market circumstances, and should not be relied upon as investment, tax, or legal advice. For investment, tax, or legal advice and before taking any action you should consult your own advisors. Note that digital assets such as cryptocurrencies present unique risks for investors. Please see our disclaimer regarding risks specific to holding digital assets before investing.

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