Optimism (OP) is an Ethereum layer-two blockchain and one of its biggest scaling solutions. The project aims to scale the Ethereum ecosystem with the help of its optimistic rollups which were first introduced in 2019. The platform’s native OP token was airdropped very recently, on May 31, 2022. The project is led by the Optimism Foundation, a non-profit organization that sets its main goal to scale and sustain public goods.
Thanks to the platform’s Optimistic Rollups, transactions can be recorded on Optimism but secured on Ethereum. This is the feature that helps scale the Ethereum technology. As a large scaling solution, Optimism currently manages 35 protocols including Synthetix (SNX), Uniswap (UNI), DEX, Velodrome (VELO), and others. The Optimism token, OP, is widely used within the ecosystem and brings value to token holders, contributors, builders, users, and community members. According to the website data, the foundation has already donated over $1 million to public goods.
In the upcoming year, the company plans to introduce sharded rollups, incentivized verification, and a decentralized sequencer. In 2024, Optimism is going to focus on L1-governed fault proofs.