OP Stack breakdown: Bedrock, centralized sequencer risk and EVM-equivalent OVM
Thread972 words
Technical thread from the Redacted OP report: the OP Stack's layered design, optimistic fraud-proof assumptions, and the fact that OP Mainnet then had no deployed state validation and a centralized sequencer without slashing. Notes Manta as a customization example.
Key claims
OP Mainnet had no state validation mechanism deployed and ran a centralized sequencer
Optimism over $2B bridged, over $500M TVL, over $175M funding
Roadmap includes decentralized sequencing and multiple proof systems
0/ The market is heating up & it‘s time to find plays for the upcoming L2 SEASON! 🚀
With…
…over $2B in assets bridged,
…over $500M in TVL,
…over $175M in funding,
…and at the center of an interoperable L2 network, @OptimismFND is one to watch! 🔴✨
🧵 (0/30)
1/ At @RedactedRes we spent 100s of hours down the OP rabbit hole and compiled the most comprehensive research report for you on >100 pages of entirely free ALPHA! 🀄️
2/ We walk you through:
🔴 The History of Scaling
🔴 Modularity & Rollups
🔴 The OP Stack
🔴 The Superchain
🔴 Ecosystem & Community
🔴 Key Metrics
🔴 Team & Funding
🔴 Pumpamentals & Risks
3/ Find the full @RedactedRes report and a TLDR thread below! 👇
x.com/RedactedRes/status/1715431066604028318
4/ In this thread, we will focus on the technical foundation that lays the groundwork for @OptimismFND to evolve into THE SUPERCHAIN! 🔴✨
5/ Setting the Stage for the Superchain
With a rapidly increasing number of L2s out there, fragmentation of users & liquidity becomes an increasingly important problem to address.
6/ As we are moving away from monolithic general purpose chains and entering the era of app-specific execution layers, we have to find ways to preserve composability among applications.
7/ This is significantly easier if these execution layers are built on top of a shared technological foundation.
One such foundation is the OP Stack! 🔴✨
8/ And if we unite an entire ecosystem of OP Stack based chains into one interoperable network of L2s, we get a hyper-scalable Superchain! 🔴✨
9/ Breaking Down the OP Stack
But before we have a look at how @OptimismFND will achieve this unification, let‘s have a closer look at the OP Stack! 🔴✨
The OP Stack is the collection of software components that developers use to build out fully functional L2s.
10/ Abstracting complexity on the path to scaling Ethereum, the OP Stack is envisioned to be a public good.
Anyone can permissionlessly build on it! 🔴✨
11/ A defining characteristic of the OP Stack is its layered architecture. This makes it a modular and highly customizable framework to build on.
12/ The current iteration of the OP Stack is Bedrock.
Among many other benefits (some of which are listed on the image below), it embodies the before-mentioned modular approach and let‘s builders customize their stack through the SystemConfig contract.
13/ This includes:
🔴 Sequencing Solution
🔴 Data Availability (DA) Solution
🔴 Settlement Layer
Additionally, the OP Stack will also let devs customize the state validation mechanism in the future.
14/ As the name suggests, Optimism is currently focused on building Optimistic Rollup tech.
In such a setup the state root that is posted to the settlement layer (and the raw tx data dumped on the DA solution) is „optimistically“ assumed to be valid.
15/ To ensure that the sequencer doesn‘t post invalid state roots, the system relies on verifiers that recompute the state and compare the result to whatever the sequencer posts to the settlement layer.
16/ If there is a discrepancy, the verifiers can initiate a fault proof mechanism.
If the state root is proven to be faulty, the sequncer can be punished (if a crypto-economic security layer exists).
17/ However, currently, the OP Stack (and hence OP Mainnet) doesn‘t have a state validation mechanism deployed on and runs a centralized sequencer (without a crypto-economic slashing mechanism).
18/ This means that users basically have to trust the centrally run sequencer (operated by the team) to not post invalid state roots to L1.
For more on the risks of centralized sequencers, have a look here! 👇
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1682359858119741443
19/ However, an ambitious road map exists that will decentralize the sequencer in the future and introduce multiple state validation mechanisms (both optimistic and validity proof based) that builders can choose from.
20/ To learn more about sequencing, data availability and settlement layers check our full @RedactedRes report, where we cover all of this in detail.
x.com/RedactedRes/status/1715431066604028318
21/ Another core component of the OP Stack‘s layered architecture is the execution layer.
The execution layer (the Virtual Machine) is where the magic happens and where state transactions based on user actions (transactions & contract interactions) is computed.
22/ As @OptimismFND is highly aligned with Ethereum and its values, it‘s not surprising that the default execution layer implementation (used on OP Mainnet) is very close to the original EVM.
23/ More specifically, Optimism has built on Geth, the most popular Ethereum execution layer from day 0.
The result is an EVM equivalent Optimistic Virtual Machine (OVM) that shares most of the infrastructure & tooling with Ethereum.
24/ In technical terms, this means the OVM is able to execute EVM bytecode.
Solidity code is simply compiled to Yul and subsequently the machine-readable bytecode that translates into executable opcodes.
25/ This allows for a developer experience akin to Ethereum L1 and enables a seamless migration of EVM/Solidity apps onto L2.
Considering that EVM/Solidity has the by far the biggest pool of devs, this reduces friction and drives ecosystem growth.
26/ However, teams building on the OP Stack do still have the option to customize the execution layer through pre-compiles to add app-specific functionality.
A great example of a team leveraging the OP Stack‘s modular design is @MantaNetwork.
27/ Manta‘s mainnet alpha is the first execution layer built on Ethereum that supports native zkApps built in Solidity.
28/ This is possible thanks to the integration of Manta‘s Universal ZK Circuits 1.0, that provide devs with an easy-to-use library to build zk-enabled applications.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1691214925929078784
29/ Additionally, @MantaNetwork will use @CelestiaOrg‘s modular DA layer to significantly reduce fees, once it‘s live on mainnet.
There is much more to cover about this cutting-edge technology stack, but we will leave it here for today.
30/ If you want to learn more, check out our full report below!👇
x.com/RedactedRes/status/1715431066604028318
14 more images on X
How the covered assets moved · since 22 Oct 2023
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This breakdown analyzes the project without making a call on the token, so price moves since publication are shown as market context.
Covered in this piece
Since then
Zero has written 11 more pieces on Optimism and $OP since this one.
- Optimism Superchain explained: OP Stack, shared sequencing and RaaSBullish call on $OP
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Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish thesis is read as a call; explainers, maps and mentions are context. Not financial advice.