Today, Optimism announced that L3 built using OP Stack can now join the Superchain. L3 can be built on OP Stack and share revenue with Optimism Collective, gaining access to the network of Superchain builders and qualifying for Retro funding, airdrops, and growth activities. In this article, Odaily will analyze this transformation and the story behind it.
Development Plan Analysis
Understanding the Basic Concepts and Announcements
Firstly, what is OP Stack? OP Stack is an open standard code library that supports the development of Superchains. It is not limited to L2 chains and DApp developers (notable examples include Base and Zora Network). The L3 ecosystem can also utilize OP Stack.
Another important question is, what is Superchain? Superchain is a major vision of Optimism, envisioned as a decentralized network of multiple L2 chains (now including L3) that share security, communication layers, and the open-source technology OP Stack. These chains have standardized features, interchangeable network resources, and enhanced interoperability to enable developers to create DApps that target the entire Superchain.
The latest announcement from Optimism can be understood as an invitation for developers who build L3 using OP Stack to join the Superchain development ecosystem and enjoy the benefits of overall ecosystem development. The direct benefits for these L3 builders include Retro funding, airdrops, and growth activities, and these joining L3s will contribute a portion of their income back to Optimism Collective.
However, it should be noted that the OP Stack technology for L3 is not yet fully mature, particularly in terms of interoperability.
Application Demands Driving Technological Transformation?
Why did Optimism make this transformation? The official announcement explains the technical details and vision at length, but the most important content may be as follows:
It is easy to see that this refers to the L3 Degen on the Base chain. The story behind this can be traced back to an incident that occurred on Warpcast a month ago:
Binji Pande, the person in charge of Optimism NFT, asked in a post: “Why did DEGEN L3 use Arbitrum Orbit technology instead of OP Stack?” (Note: Arbitrum Orbit is a chain development tool introduced by the Arbitrum team.)
Syndicate, a collaborating developer for Degen, replied below the post: “The ability to support custom Gas tokens is a major advantage!” (OP Stack does not support custom Gas tokens, so we don’t use it.)
Zain Bacchus, the Product Manager of OP Labs, then replied: “Custom Gas tokens will be launched this quarter.”
What other updates are there?
This update includes the introduction of custom Gas tokens and Plasma mode.
Firstly, OP Stack will support custom Gas tokens for L3, allowing projects that build communities around existing L2 native tokens to utilize their tokens as Gas tokens, thereby developing their community into an L3 ecosystem. This also reduces the entry cost for new users, as they no longer need to deposit Gas tokens into L2 through expensive L1 operations before entering L3. They can simply perform low-cost L2 deposit operations within L3.
The optional Data Availability (DA) layer is another key module for developers to build low-cost chains. The Plasma mode allows developers to choose their own DA layer on top of OP Stack to reduce transaction costs while minimizing security challenges and management costs. OP Stack will integrate multiple data availability layers in the future.
Looking ahead, this opens up a framework for L3 developers to participate in the Superchain ecosystem, shaping a scalable future and benefiting from the contributions of other builders.
Conclusion
In the current era of numerous chains, whether it’s L1, L2, or L3, scarcity is no longer an issue. When there are too many “gold diggers,” the most stable and effective way to operate is to be the one selling shovels. From the latest announcement, it is evident that Optimism is actively adapting to market demands, aiming to make OP Stack the ultimate weapon for realizing the vision of the Superchain.