Optimism
Optimism
Optimism is the organization and L2 network behind op-stack. It runs OP Mainnet (the flagship L2), governs the Optimism Collective, and publishes the open-source stack that the superchain is built on.
OP Mainnet
OP Mainnet is an EVM-equivalent optimistic rollup settled on Ethereum. It was one of the first major L2s to ship a live fraud proof system, with fault proofs going live on June 10, 2024. TVL is ~$1.52B (L2BEAT, June 2026); Base has surpassed it in raw activity, but OP Mainnet retains significant DeFi depth and is the governance reference chain.
Transactions are sequenced centrally today, with decentralized sequencing on the roadmap. Withdrawals to L1 carry a ~7-day challenge window. OP Mainnet is classified Stage 1 by L2BEAT.
OP Token
OP is the governance token of the Optimism Collective. Total supply is exactly 4,294,967,296 OP (~4.29B). Uses:
- Token House voting on protocol upgrades, treasury allocations, governance proposals
- Sequencer selection (planned)
- As of February 2026: 50% of all Superchain transaction fees fund monthly OTC OP buybacks — a direct protocol revenue → token flywheel
Note: Base's announced February 2026 departure from the OP Stack introduces uncertainty around future Superchain fee revenue.
Governance: The Optimism Collective
Two-house bicameral structure:
- Token House — OP holders vote on protocol and economic proposals
- Citizens' House — badgeholders elected by governance vote on RetroPGF allocations and select new citizens
Proposals require passing both houses for major changes. The Security Council can execute emergency upgrades.
RetroPGF
Retroactive Public Goods Funding: the Optimism Collective distributes OP tokens to contributors who have already delivered measurable ecosystem value — open-source tooling, docs, dev education, infrastructure.
RetroPGF Round 7 completed in February 2025, allocating 16M OP split between Dev Tooling and Onchain Builders categories. Over 60M OP has been distributed across multiple rounds since launch.
RetroPGF transitioned from annual rounds to an ongoing impact evaluation model in 2025, then paused through end of 2026 while the mechanism is revised.
Related
op-stack · superchain · base · rollups · ethereum-l2s