What is Optimism(OP)? How Does It Work?

Optimism, one of the Layer 2 projects aimed at offering alternative solutions to Ethereum’s scalability and speed issues, is among the most widely used infrastructures in the cryptocurrency market. In this article, you can find answers to questions such as: What is Optimism (OP)? How does Optimism (OP) work? How to store OP tokens? How to buy and sell OP coins?

Advantages of Optimism (OP)

Founded by Kevin Ho, Karl Floersch, and Jinglan Wang, Optimism’s code infrastructure stands out as it is approved and licensed by MIT, one of the most well-known universities in the USA. Optimism’s technology is open source, making it accessible to everyone. This has allowed many startups to build their projects using the benefits offered by Optimism.

As a Layer 2 project connected to the Ethereum blockchain, Optimism can easily leverage Ethereum’s existing expertise and large developer community. Applications running on Ethereum can operate fully compatible on Optimism with only minor changes.

Compared to Ethereum, Optimism can approve transactions much faster, enabling a significantly higher number of transactions to be processed quickly.

What is Optimistic Rollup?

The speed and scalability solution behind Optimism is the Optimistic Rollup technology. As the name suggests, this technology operates on an optimistic structure, assuming that each transaction sent to the network is correct and free of fraud. This approach avoids the time and energy needed to verify the validity of each transaction, making Optimism much faster than other networks.

So, what happens if a malicious or fraudulent transaction is submitted to the network?

Transactions on Optimism are collected, sorted, and submitted by a centralized entity called the Sequencer, which then forwards them to the Ethereum network for finalization. There is also a group of validators that monitor the Sequencer. Their role is to check the accuracy of transactions. However, unlike other blockchains, validator approval is not required for transaction confirmation. Transactions are approved, and if a suspicious transaction is detected, validators report it. The reported transaction is then reviewed, and its validity is tested. If it cannot be proven valid, the Optimism blockchain reverts to the state just before the fraudulent transaction, preventing any potential damage.

While Optimism adopts this structure to enhance speed and scalability, it does have some disadvantages. For example, to transfer assets to the Optimism blockchain, you must first send them to Ethereum and then bridge them to the Optimism network. This process is simple, but returning from the Optimism network to the Ethereum network can take time. Because so many transactions are confirmed, it can take a while for validators to monitor each one. Therefore, if users want to transfer their assets back to the main Ethereum network, they must wait about a week. This waiting period is to ensure that the user withdrawing assets has not engaged in any fraudulent activity. If no objections are raised by the validators within the week, the user’s assets are transferred to Ethereum.

What Does Rollup Mean?

Optimistic Rollup technology processes transactions off-chain to ensure fast and cheap approvals. Transactions are then sent to the Ethereum network for finalization. However, since submitting each transaction individually would be costly, multiple transactions are batched, and the code representing this batch (state root) is sent to the Ethereum network. The term “Rollup” refers to this batching process. For instance, it can be compared to a bouquet formed by combining several flowers.

Get to Know Optimism

• Optimism is a Layer 2 blockchain connected to the Ethereum network.
• It was founded by Kevin Ho, Karl Floersch, and Jinglan Wang.
• The OP token is Optimism’s native cryptocurrency and is a governance token.
• Decisions related to Optimism can be voted on with the OP coin.
• The OP cryptocurrency operates on the Ethereum network using the ERC-20 token standard.
• The governance mechanism where changes to Optimism are voted on with OP coins is called Optimism Collective, while the mechanism that uses platform revenue for social welfare activities is called Citizens’ House.
• You can access Optimism’s website here and find detailed information here.

How to Store Optimism (OP)?

The OP cryptocurrency operates on the ERC-20 standard. You can store your OP assets in browser, web, desktop, mobile, and hardware wallets that support the Ethereum network.

How to Buy and Sell Optimism (OP)?

To buy and sell Optimism (OP) with Turkish Lira or Tether (USDT), you can use the BtcTurk | Kripto website or the BtcTurk | Kripto mobile app. If you are not a member of BtcTurk | Kripto, you can sign up immediately on our website or mobile application and buy Optimism (OP). You can deposit Turkish Lira 24/7 using one of our seven affiliated banks.