Optimism, the Layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, is preparing to implement its much-anticipated “bedrock” upgrade. This advancement marks a key step towards Optimism’s ultimate goal of transforming into a “superchain” comprised of multiple interoperable and composable blockchains.
The Bedrock upgrade brings great hope to Optimism as it strives to become a prominent player in the blockchain space. Several notable entities have already expressed confidence in the platform, with major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase planning to build its new Base network on Optimism. Additionally, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), known for its crypto-friendly investments, is supporting the development of new client software for the project.
Karl Floersch, CEO and co-founder of OP Labs, which supports the development of Optimism, emphasized the importance of the Bedrock upgrade, saying: "Bedrock is named Bedrock for a reason. It is the foundation of the superchain." The Superchain concept envisions a network of chains built using Optimism's OP Stack, integrating these mini-chains into a cohesive environment, enabling seamless communication between them.
With the implementation of Bedrock, Optimism seeks to reduce that by 40% through an optimized data compression strategy. In addition, it will introduce support for reorganizations, situations where a blockchain produces two blocks at the same time, creating a temporary duplicate blockchain. Code changes in Bedrock will mitigate reorganizations by reducing deposit confirmation times from 10 minutes to just 1 minute.
The Bedrock upgrade, technically known as a hard fork, will also enhance the proof modularity of Optimism's OP Stack. This open-source toolkit enables developers to build customizable environments on the Optimism platform. In addition, the upgrade will introduce other code changes to improve node performance. Improved proof modularity allows validity proofs and error proofs to be used simultaneously with the OP Stack, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the platform.
Additionally, Bedrock aims to transition Optimism to a multi-client ecosystem, ensuring that at least two versions of the software exist for interacting with the network. This move is significant because Optimism becomes the first layer 2 protocol to adopt multiple clients, enhancing system resilience and eliminating single points of failure. In traditional layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum, multiple clients are relied upon to maintain network security. If an error affects one client, the chain can rely on other clients to keep the blockchain running.
The scheduled implementation of the Bedrock upgrade is scheduled for Tuesday at 16:00 UTC and is expected to last between two and four hours. During this time, deposits and withdrawals will be temporarily unavailable and the chain will experience a temporary pause.
Optimism is an Ethereum expansion solution that allows users to trade on the blockchain at a more affordable price while inheriting the underlying security of Ethereum. Using optimistic rollup technology, Optimism merges a large number of transactions into a single transaction, thereby speeding up transactions and reducing gas fees. Optimistic rollups assume that all transactions are valid, allowing the network to process any potential fraudulent transactions within a specified time frame (usually one week).
Competition in the Ethereum Layer 2 space has intensified in recent months, with Arbitrum emerging as Optimism’s biggest competitor in the optimistic scaling solution space. Arbitrum currently leads with $5.69 billion in total value locked (TVL), a measure of collateral invested in decentralized finance ( DeFi) protocols on the network, while Optimism lags behind with $1.68 billion in TVL. The Bedrock upgrade is expected to increase Optimism’s competitiveness relative to Arbitrum and solidify its position in the market.
As the blockchain industry grows, alternatives to optimistic rollups, such as ZK Rollups, have gained traction. These alternatives provide users with more options for faster and more cost-effective transactions on top of the Ethereum network.
and Matter Labs launched zkEVM, which are ZK Rollups compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, further enriching the options available to users.
The Bedrock upgrade marks a major milestone for the Optimism mainnet. By accelerating deposit confirmations, enhancing proof modularity, and embracing a multi-client ecosystem, Optimism is poised to establish itself as a robust and competitive Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. As Bedrock’s implementation approaches, the blockchain community is eagerly anticipating the transformative potential it brings to the future of the platform.
Finally, there are still many things that are not written down, such as specific opportunities and specific decisions. These things are often not something that can be summarized in one article.
