What is Optimism (OP)?

What is Optimism (OP)?

Optimism, formerly known as Plasma Group, is a layer 2 solution designed to help scale Ethereum. The network supports a robust ecosystem, with almost 200 projects and approximately $900 million in TVL.

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

Optimism - in their own words

Optimism (OP) is a layer-two blockchain that sits on top of Ethereum, facilitating faster and cheaper transactions, while still benefiting from Ethereum’s security. Through the use of optimistic rollups, Optimism is able to enhance scalability by batching multiple transactions into a single transaction on the Ethereum mainnet. In this way, Optimism trustlessly records transactions, but still ultimately secures them on the Ethereum network. Optimism is capable of processing between 2000-4000 TPS, and has attracted top projects including Synthetix (SNX), Uniswap (UNI), a DEX, and Velodrome (VELO). 

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 ETH?

Optimism ETH is easily accessible for exchanges, fintechs, institutional traders, and developers, and provides a fast, low-cost alternative to operating on the Ethereum network. This enables several use-cases, including:

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

For more on Optimism, check out their blog here.

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