In recent times, L2 projects such as Linea, BASE, and opBNB have successively announced the launch of their mainnets, and the L2 track has become more and more lively. Many people believe that L2 will be the most important narrative of the next round of bull market. In the process of L2s vigorous development, what we cannot ignore is OP Stack.
1. Introduction to OP Stack
OP Stack is a blockchain expansion solution launched by Optimism that can help projects build Layer 2 side chains. OP Stack is a set of standardized, shared and open source development stacks maintained by the op collective, allowing anyone to use Optimisitc Rollup to build their own L2 blockchain on Ethereum.
The overall OP Stack is a six-layer structure:
1) Data availability layer
The data availability layer (DA layer) is an important part of OP Stack. It is used to store and retrieve data published by OP Stack, which directly affects the performance and scalability of the network. In OP Stack, Ethereum is currently used as the data availability layer, which means that OP Stack’s data will be stored on the Ethereum blockchain, which guarantees the security of its data.
EIP-4844 is an important proposal to reduce fees for data availability tiers, which is one of the reasons why the Cancun upgrade is getting so much attention.
2) Sorting layer
The ordering layer plays a key role in the OP Stack, which determines how to effectively collect and publish the transactions of users on the chain into the data availability layer module. By default, OP Stack uses a single dedicated sequencer to process transactions. However, this single sequencer approach may introduce the risk of centralization of the chain.
In order to solve this problem, officials suggest that the multi-sorter model can be adopted in the future. Multiple sequencers can provide greater security and decentralization, but may have some impact on the performance of the chain.
3) Derived layer
The derivation layer, while processing the raw data in the data available layer, is primarily responsible for parsing and processing this data in the OP Stack to generate processed inputs.
Tight connections between the derivation layer and the data availability layer ensure the accuracy and completeness of the original data. The main task of the derivation layer is to process raw data, convert it into executable inputs, and ensure that these inputs can be correctly parsed and executed by the Ethereum engine. This collaboration and interaction enables the derivation layer and data availability layer to work efficiently, thereby providing efficient and reliable performance to the blockchain network.
4) Execution layer
The execution layer is a major component in the OP Stack, which is responsible for processing and executing smart contracts and transactions on the chain. Simply put, the execution layer is the type of virtual machine used. The execution layer of OP Stack is EVM.
The goal of the execution layer is to provide efficient smart contract execution and transaction processing capabilities to ensure the performance and scalability of the blockchain network.
5) Settlement layer
The settlement layer is an important part of the OP Stack and is used to process L2 transaction data and send the confirmation information to the target blockchain for final settlement after L2 confirmation. The most basic of these solutions is the optimistic protocol, but there are also other solutions such as CANNON (next generation failure-proof solution).
In the future, it is possible to introduce validity proof mechanisms such as ZK (zero-knowledge proof) to solve the gap between chains, OP series L2 and ZK series L2, and further improve the performance and scalability of OP Stack.
6) Governance layer
The governance layer plays an important role in the blockchain system and is used to manage the configuration, upgrades and design decisions of the system. Multi-signature contract is a mechanism that achieves the credibility and decentralization of decision-making through multiple participants co-signing transactions.
Governance token voting uses the voting power of token holders to determine system decisions, such as protocol changes, proposal approval, etc. This approach ensures fairness and democracy in the decision-making process, allowing community members to participate in system development and decision-making.
2. Current applications of OP Stack
Recently, the 18th round of Gitcoin Grants came, and we found that it added a new L2 for donation payment: PGN (Public Goods Network), which is an L2 specially designed for donations built by Gitcoin based on OP Stack.
From June to now, 11 new projects have been announced to build L2 networks based on OP Stack, including star projects such as opBNB, Zora, Worldcoin, and DeBank. The development speed of OP Stack is quite rapid. Let’s sort out the projects based on OP Stack to build L2 networks according to time:
1）OPCraft
On October 18, 2022, on-chain game developer Lattice used OP Stack to launch OPCraft, a dedicated chain for on-chain virtual world games. The launch of OPCraft will provide on-chain game developers with better experiences and functions, further improving the performance and scalability of games.
2）Base
On February 23, 2023, Coinbase launched the Layer 2 network Base built on OP Stack, which was opened to developers on July 13, and was officially launched and open to everyone on August 9.
Base TVL No. 8.20 has reached US$228 million, ranking fifth in L2. It is currently the best-developed L2 network based on OP Stack.
3）Kinto
On March 30, 2023, Kinto, a KYC DeFi network built on OP Stack, was officially launched. The network focuses on providing safe and insured decentralized financial services and is currently running on the testnet.
4）UniDex
On April 2, 2023, multi-chain aggregator Unidex launched the Magma test network built on OP Stack. UniDex hopes that the Magma network will provide users with secure and fast transactions, and achieve low Gas costs, creating greater value for users.
5）Magi
On April 19, 2023, a16z Crypto launched the Rollup client Magi based on OP Stack, aiming to improve the client diversity and flexibility of the entire OP Stack ecosystem and better meet the needs of different users and developers.
6）op-erigon
On April 20, 2023, Test in Prod developed an alternative execution client op-erigon based on OP Stack, which is currently being tested on OP Goerli.
7）Worldcoin
On May 11, 2023, Worldcoin, an encryption project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced a partnership with Optimism Collective to jointly build a scalable blockchain ecosystem based on OP Stack.
8）Keystone
On May 31, 2023, Curio officially open sourced Keystone, a full-chain game engine L2 chain customized based on OP Stack. Keystone can increase the speed of on-chain games by 100 times and provide a more powerful gaming experience.
9）opBNB
On June 19, 2023, BNB Chain announced the launch of the opBNB test network, a Layer 2 network based on OP Stack, and the main network was launched on August 16.
10）Zora Network
On June 22, 2023, the NFT trading market Zora launched the Zora Network, a Layer 2 network based on OP Stack. Zora hopes to provide users with a faster and cheaper transaction experience by adopting Layer 2 technology.
11）Loot Chain
On June 28, 2023, the Loot ecological project Adventure Gold DAO used OP Stack to build the Layer 2 network Loot Chain.
12）Manta Pacific
On July 12, 2023, the Layer 1 public chain Manta Network based on ZK launched the Layer 2 network Manta Pacific based on OP Stack. Manta Pacific uses the Celestia data availability layer to provide security and reduce Gas costs, and is implemented through Caldera’s improved OP Stack Scalability.
13）Mantle Network
On July 17, 2023, Mantle Network, a modular Ethereum Layer 2 network built on OP Stack supported by BitDAO and Bybit, launched the mainnet Alpha version. After six months of development and testing, it has processed more than 14 million transactions. On-chain transactions.
14）Celo
On July 17, 2023, cLabs, the Celo development organization, initiated a proposal to transform Celo from an independent EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain to an OP Stack-based Ethereum Layer 2, and it was voted on July 31.
15）Aevo
Aevo, a decentralized options exchange developed by Ribbon, is built on the Aevo Chain running on OP Stack.
On July 25, 2023, Ribbon Finance’s proposal to merge into Aevo was voted on.
16）Public Goods Network
On July 25, 2023, the OP Stack-based Layer 2 network Public Goods Network (PGN), supported by Gitcoin and others, will go live on the mainnet and support payments in recent Gitcoin donations.
17）Lyra Finance
On July 28, 2023, the option agreement Lyra Finance announced that it will launch the V2 version, which will be launched based on the OP Stack to build the Lyra Chain, which aims to support high throughput, low latency and low-cost transaction execution.
18)Mode Network
On August 7, 2023, the Mode Network built on the OP Stack launched a public testnet. The network designed a contract revenue sharing incentive mechanism at the protocol layer, aiming to expand the applications and users of the Mode blockchain.
19）Debank
On August 11, 2023, DeBank launched the DeBank Chain test network based on OP Stack, and plans to launch the main network in 2024 to provide users with a more efficient and economical transaction experience.
We have seen that 19 projects have joined or plan to join the OP Stack ecosystem, covering exchanges, public chains, clients, NFTs, games, derivatives and other fields.
3. Advantages of OP Stack
In less than a year, so many projects have chosen OP Stack to build L2 networks, especially since April this year, many projects have announced to join the ranks of OP Stack every month Come here. So, what are the advantages of OP Stack?
High degree of openness and active developers
The openness of the license of the open source stack is indeed a key factor affecting its wide application. Optimism uses the MIT license, while zkSync, Arbitrum, and Starknet use the Apache License 2.0. Both licenses have a high degree of open source, but MIT is more concise and free, which can be said to do whatever you want. In contrast, the Apache license has some limitations in terms of compatibility, trademark use, patent authorization, and limitation of liability. Although it is conducive to product commercialization, it may actually become a constraint and restriction.
Optimism is highly compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), as can be seen from its 11994 commits and 2.3k forks (number of active developers) on GitHub, with a lot of code updates and integration work behind it . This data even exceeds Arbitrum, and far exceeds zkSync and Starknet.
The high degree of openness and active developers all prove that it is a very active, well-developed, widely recognized development project with a strong consensus.
One-click chaining and modularization
OP Stack is a set of components that provide a modular blockchain network. Using it, developers can easily start a new Layer 2 network.
The ultimate vision of OP Stack is to build an Optimism Superchain that integrates separate L2 into an interoperable combined system. OP Stack may make the release of L2 as easy as deploying smart contracts on Ethereum today, and make one-click issuance of chain as easy as one-click issuance of coins now, maybe in the near future we only need one-click Publish the blockchain with a click.
In the OP Stack, modules are pluggable bits of data that allow developers to switch between different layers of execution, consensus, settlement, and data availability as needed. Superchain"standardization"It means reaching a consensus on the standard of these modules, and everyone can implement according to this standard. This standardization gives developers more flexibility to develop and customize the functionality of the chain. At the same time, Superchain is completely open source, allowing anyone to develop, iterate and submit requests for free to promote the development of the entire network. This openness and collaboration help accelerate innovation and drive the development of the blockchain ecosystem.
OPStack is a six-layer architecture, from bottom to top: data availability layer, sorting layer, derivation layer, execution layer, settlement layer and governance layer. Each layer is a modular API that can be combined and decoupled as needed. The design of this architecture makes OPStack highly flexible and scalable, and can meet different business needs and application scenarios.
By combining different modules together, a blockchain solution tailored to specific needs can be built. At the same time, since each layer is an independent module, one layer can be updated or replaced without affecting other layers, which improves the maintainability and upgradeability of the system.
In the context of L2s super narrative, OP Stacks one-click release chain and customizable modularity make the creation of L2 easier, more convenient, and more economical, which has contributed to the development of OP Stack in a big step.
4. Future Prospects of OP Stack
At present, OP Stack has been more adopted. Many star public chain projects have joined OP Stack, such as Coinbase, opBNB, Zora, Worldcoin, etc., which not only give Optimism a strong brand endorsement of the super chain ecology, but also provide future continuous users , transaction volume and other growth provide the source of vitality.
Although OP Stack has a first-mover advantage on the road of L2 expansion, its existing problems cannot be ignored, such as decentralized sorter, cross-chain operation waiting period, atomic interoperability, etc., and Arbitrum Orbit, ZK Stack, etc. Competing products are also very competitive, and OP Stack still has a long way to go in the future. We have also seen that OP Stack does not exclude other technologies. We have seen the existence of ZK in the development of OP Stack. The innovative development of OP Stack is still full of vitality and is very worth looking forward to.
The super chain built on the basis of OP Stack will merge the Optimism main network and other chains into a unified OP chain network (that is, the chain within the super chain), bringing a broader block space to the Ethereum ecosystem. The block space is a critical step towards mass adoption. If the super chain based on OP Stack can become a reality, it will be a huge impetus to the development of the entire Ethereum ecosystem.
