Interpreting the latest roadmap of OP Stack: Application demands drive technological transformation

Author: Nan Zhi, Odaily Planet Daily

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 the Optimism Collective, thus accessing the Superchain builder network and qualifying for Retro funding, airdrops, and growth activities. Odaily will analyze this transformation and the story behind it in this article.

Development Plan Interpretation

Basic Concepts and Announcement Analysis

First, what is OP Stack? OP Stack is an open standard code library that supports Superchain development, not limited to L2 chains and DApp developers (notable examples include Base, Zora Network, etc.), and the L3 ecosystem can also utilize it.

Another important question, what is Superchain? Superchain is a major vision of Optimism, envisioned as a network of multiple decentralized L2 chains (now also including L3), which share security, communication layers, and the open-source technology OP Stack. These chains have standardized characteristics, and network resources are interchangeable, enhancing chain interoperability, allowing developers to create DApps targeting the entire Superchain.

Optimism's latest announcement can be understood as allowing developers using OP Stack to build L3 to join the development landscape of Optimism's Superchain and enjoy the benefits of overall ecological development. For these L3s, the direct benefits include Retro funding, airdrops, and growth activities, and these joining L3s will return part of their revenue to the Optimism Collective.

However, it is important to note that the OP Stack technology for L3 is not yet fully mature, especially in terms of interoperability.

Application Demand Driving Technological Change?

Why did Optimism make this transformation? The official announcement elaborated on a lengthy technical vision, but the most important content may be summarized as follows:

L3 can provide a new, more cost-effective way of building for chain and DApp developers. We have already seen this trend on Base, which has rapidly expanded support for L3 on its existing foundation.

It is not difficult to see that this refers to L3 Degen on the Base chain. The story behind this can be traced back to a month ago in a story on Warpcast:

Optimism NFT lead Binji Pande posted a question: "Why did DEGEN L3 use Arbitrum Orbit technology instead of OP Stack?" (Note: Arbitrum Orbit is a chain development tool launched by the Arbitrum team.)

Degen co-developer Syndicate replied below the post: "The ability to support custom Gas tokens is a significant advantage!" (OP Stack does not support custom Gas tokens, so we don't use it.)

Subsequently, OP Labs product lead Zain Bacchus replied: "Custom Gas tokens will be launched this quarter."

What Other Updates Are There?

This update includes custom Gas tokens and Plasma mode.

First, OP Stack will support custom Gas tokens for L3, allowing projects built around existing L2 native tokens to use their tokens as Gas tokens, developing their communities into L3 ecosystems. This also lowers the entry cost for new users, eliminating the need to deposit Gas tokens into L2 through expensive L1 operations before entering L3; they can simply perform low-cost L2 deposit operations in L3.

The optionality of the data availability (DA) layer is another key module for developers building low-cost chains. The Plasma mode allows all developers to choose their DA layer while using OP Stack, reducing transaction costs while minimizing security issues and management costs. OP Stack will gradually integrate multiple data availability layers.

Looking ahead, this opens a framework for L3 developers to participate in the Superchain ecosystem, helping shape the future of scalability while benefiting from the contributions of other builders.

Conclusion

In the current explosion of various chains, whether L1, L2, or L3 is no longer scarce. When there are too many "prospectors," being a "shovel seller" can be the most stable and effective business model. From the latest announcement, it is clear that Optimism is actively adapting to market demands, aiming to make OP Stack the ultimate weapon for realizing the vision of the Superchain.