Project Review: Optimism

I. Overview:
About Optimism:
Optimism is a low-cost and lightning-fast on a Layer-2 Ethereum blockchain while maintaining security from the Ethereum original chain. It is an Optimistic Roll-up project, using a fraud-proof security mechanism.
Moreover, not just a protocol, The Optimism Foundation now is a non-profit organization dedicated to growing the Optimism Collective. They will not only write software that scales Ethereum technology, but also scale Ethereum values by creating the rails for highly impactful projects that don’t have a business model to succeed.
II. Unique Selling Points:
The term “Optimism Roll-up” refers to the process of removing transactions off the Layer-1 chain, bundling them into a single batch, and producing proof. The foundation of optimism is composed of three fundamental elements:
- Ethereum Layer-1 native security platform (aka Ethereum Mainnet).
- The core business of optimism’s scalability: Optimistic Rollup.
- Optimistic Virtual Machine (OVM): An Ethereum-compatible virtual machine that enables projects to function as well as they were running on Ethereum Layer-1. Developers may run their smart contracts on this solution with just a few lines of code thanks to the OVM environment. After all, OVM is a virtual machine that has considerably superior scalability and can process a lot of smart contracts at once.
This combination gives Optimism exceptional features that no other protocol, not even Layer-1 protocol, can match.
- Transaction fee: When compared to gas fees on Ethereum right now, low latency results in a 90-fold reduction in gas fees.
- Scalability: With the help of the OVM, DApps now running on Ethereum may easily transition to Optimism.
- Security: Every project that launched on Layer-2 retains Layer-1 Ethereum’s highest level of security.
III. Tokenomics & Utilities:
Tokenomics:
Certain governance rights are granted via OP, an ERC-20 token. Over time, the Optimism Foundation will work alongside the Collective to shape how the rules of governance evolve.
Optimism is governed by Optimism Foundation and the members of the Optimism Collective. The core governing structure of the Optimism Collective is established as two co-equal chambers: the Token House and the Citizens’ House. These two houses are tasked with balancing short-term incentives with long-term vision in the pursuit of the Optimistic Vision.
About the token allocation:
Category | Percentage | Description |
Ecosystem Fund | 25% | A proactive program to stimulate development in the Collective ecosystem by providing funding to projects and communities |
Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) | 20% | The Optimism Collective’s primary mechanism to adequately and reliably reward public goods for the impact they provide |
User airdrops | 19% | A series of airdrops to reward users for specific helpful behaviors |
Core contributors | 19% | The team members who’ve been working tirelessly to bring the Optimism Collective into existence |
Sugar xaddies | 17% | Investors |
About the Token Release Schedule:

Token Utilities:
The OP token’s utilities are not yet announced. According to Optimism’s release, the OP token is largely employed in Token House for governance-related functions like:
- Elect new protocol versions.
- Vote in favor of allocating incentives for initiatives funded by the Governance Fund.
- Funding for an optimism project.
- Project-management involvement with OP Citizens.
IV. Team & Backers:
Optimism’s Team:
Optimism Foundation is established to act as the head of the Optimism Collective who is responsible for running the experiments, stimulating the ecosystem, then will finally dissolve, and give the Optimism community recommendations.
The Optimism Foundation is led by Optimism co-founders Jinglan Wang and Ben Jones, together with Eva Beylin (Director of Graph Foundation), Abbey Titcomb (Head of Community of Radicle), and Brian Avello from Maker Foundation.

Investors:
In the latest funding round, the project has raised $150 million from a Series B round led by a16z and Paradigm, and the previous funding rounds include:
- On Jan 15th, 2020: $3.5M in Seed Round by Paradigm, IDEO Colab Ventures.
- On Feb 24th, 2021: $25M in Series A round by Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, IDEO Colab Ventures.
- On Mar 17th, 2022: $150M in Series B round by Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz.
In a blog post, the startup said the added cash now means the company has a valuation of $1.65 billion. Optimism is a startup that wants to make using Ethereum, the network behind the second largest cryptocurrency, easier and cheaper.
V. Roadmap:
The project has completed important milestones in 2021, launching the Alpha Mainnet at the beginning of the year, then launching the official Mainnet at the end of the year, completing the EVM virtual machine, etc.
Specifically, Optimisn’s Roadmap in 2022 – 2024 includes:
- 12/2021: Official launch of Mainnet
- 2022: Launching the next generation of Fault Proof algorithm
- 2023: Split Rollup, launch Incentivized Verification and Decentralized Sequencer mechanisms.
- 2024: Fault Proofs adjusted on Layer 1.
VI. Socials:
Visit these social channels of Optimism for more updates:
- Website: https://www.optimism.io/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/optimismFND
- Discord: https://discord-gateway.optimism.io/
- Github: https://github.com/ethereum-optimism
VII. Summary:
The Optimism is dedicated to growing the Optimism Collective which is a new model of digital democratic governance optimized to drive rapid and sustained growth of a decentralized ecosystem.
The Collective aims to consistently provide massive retroactive incentives for public goods which benefit Optimism, Ethereum, and the Collective as a whole.
Barmy team hopes that you can find valuable information about Optimism and OP token from our article. Please let us know how to fulfill your expectation in the next Project Review.
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