Optimism upgrades “Bedrock” – Superchain on the way?

Optimism’s Superchain Vision

Optimism has set itself the ambitious goal of raising the performance and networking in the Ethereum ecosystem to a new level with the concept of the superchain. As a proven Layer 2 scaling solution, Optimism has already made a name for itself by accelerating Ethereum transactions and reducing gas fees.

Optimism transforms the vision of the superchain into a chain of numerous interoperable mini-blockchains, the so-called “shards”. Instead of a single, capacitively limited blockchain, the superchain would consist of multiple smaller blockchains that can communicate with each other (similar to the Comsos (ATOM) ecosystem). This approach would significantly improve network scaling and enable higher transactions per second without compromising network security or decentralization.

So, the superchain would have the potential to significantly improve Ethereum’s performance by increasing transaction speeds and reducing gas fees, ultimately leading to an improved user experience. Furthermore, the superchain would provide developers with a platform on which to create customized blockchains as part of the Ethereum ecosystem. These application-specific blockchains could then interact with others within the superchain, creating an ecosystem of interoperable smart contract applications.

With this vision, Optimism addresses the current challenges of Ethereum, especially in relation to scaling and gas fees. The successfully completed Bedrock upgrade marks a major milestone that should pave the way for the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution to the superchain.

How does Bedrock improve Optimism?

The Bedrock upgrade brings several technical improvements with himself. First, the upgrade leads to a significant reduction in transfer times from the Ethereum mainnet to the Optimism mainnet – from ten minutes to just one minute. This improved speed contributes to an overall better user experience. And also ensures that transactions in the Optimism network can be confirmed more quickly overall.

Second, the upgrade has cut gas fees by 40 percent, which Optimism is doing now to the most cost-effective ETH Layer 2 scaling solution based on Optimistic Rollup technology. Lowering these fees makes Optimism more attractive to users and developers.

Third, the Bedrock upgrade also brings Improvements for the OP Stack an open-source platform for decentralized applications that enables developers to build custom blockchains with Optimism.

Introducing a multi-client ecosystem

In addition, the Bedrock upgrade transforms the Layer 2 scaling solution into a multi-client ecosystem. This means OP network validators can now use multiple client software to run the network. If there is a bug in one client software, the network can fall back to the other users running the other client software to keep the network running. Loud Karl Floerschthe CEO and co-founder of OP Labs, this upgrade makes Optimism the first Layer 2 running on a multi-client ecosystem.

Conclusion

Optimism’s Bedrock upgrade marks a major milestone for the Ethereum ecosystem. It increases efficiency by reducing deposit confirmation times and gas fees, and improves security. It also optimizes network adaptability and strengthens resilience by moving to a multi-client ecosystem. The upgrade could put Optimism in a stronger position for future innovation over the long term, thereby cementing its role as the leading Layer 2 scaling solution. However, one should always keep in mind that the competition in the layer 2 sector is very strong. It therefore remains to be seen how Bedrock will influence the further development of Optimism.