Optimism Superchain explained: OP Stack, shared sequencing and RaaS
Thread1,144 words
Bullish call$OP−93%since this piece, moved against the callHow it played out ↓Explains the OP Superchain: shared governance, sequencer revenue sharing and atomic cross-chain interop via a shared sequencer, plus the role of Rollup-as-a-Service providers. Argues OP is a multichain ecosystem, not just OP Mainnet, despite a 60% drawdown from its ATH.
Key claims
Superchain counts 28 member networks and over 40 chains are live or building on the OP Stack
OP Mainnet and Base account for more than 30% of L2 value secured
OP is down 60% from its $4.67 ATH
The market has been nuking across the board
You are scared. Paper-handing your bags for pennies
Just 2 months ago, @a16z bought $90M worth of $OP
At the day of the announcement, $OP was at $2.50
If that's +/- their price, they're down $30M now
They are not selling. Why? t.co/5XxHXCz3My
1/ Since the beginning of June alone, >$300B in total crypto market capitalization have been lost.
$OP is down 60% from its ATH at $4.67 back in early March.
Is $OP dead and goes to 0 now?
❌ No.
Let me explain why. 👇
2/ While prices are in down only mode and people are focusing on their summer vacation rather than magic internet money, @Optimism has continued to build.
Laying the foundation for the Superchain. 🔴 ✨
But before we dive into that, let's get the terminology straight. 👇
3/ 🔴 What is Optimism?
Optimism is the totality of the technology its ecosystem runs on, the mechanism it’s governed by, and the community that brings it to life.
4/ 🔴 What is the OP stack?
It's the foundational software set Optimism runs on. The tech stack that powers Optimism Mainnet & the Superchain ecosystem.
The OP stack as a modular framework allows anyone to build customized rollups using battle-tested, open-source software.
5/ 🔴 What is the OP Superchain?
This ecosystem of OP chains enables highly scalable app designs as modularity allows for customization at every level of the tech stack.
However, these app-specific (or category-specific) rollups also introduce friction / fragmentation.
6/ The Superchain overcomes this friction, unifying OP-chains into one interoperable ecosystem that feels like a monolithic chain to the user.
In other words:
The Superchain seeks to integrate otherwise siloed L2s into a single composable system.
7/ Okay, now you have a basic idea of what the Superchain is.
Let's dive in a bit deeper. 👇
8/ Chains that want to be part of the Superchain opt in to a shared governance and sequencer revenue sharing model.
Superchains will share a bridge and upgrade synchronously, with interop powered by shared sequencing and cross-chain messaging.
9/ Participating networks in the Superchain will share the sequencing layer.
As this shared sequencer produces blocks on multiple chains simultaneously, it can guarantee atomic interactions between these networks.
10/ This works because there is a single entity that proposes blocks to the rollup nodes of all the chains plugged into the OP sequencer.
Hence, these chains don’t necessarily need to rely on other validators to include these atomic transactions.
11/ Important to note, that this is a slightly simplified explanation and there are limitations here.
Since the sequencer doesn't execute txs (only promises inclusion in L1 block), there is contingency on other rollups executing the atomic txs that the sequencer proposes.
12/ Nevertheless, the interop is one distinguishing factor compared to other rollup ecosystems and will be the main narrative around @Optimism this cycle.
Another differentiator is the accessibility of the OP tech stack.
A key role here play Rollup-as-a-Service providers.
13/ Rollup-as-a-Service providers serve as the final abstraction layer on top of open-source rollup stacks like the OP stack.
They abstract all the complexity associated with building and maintaining decentralized networks and will be a major catalyst for the Superchain vision.
14/ RaaS allows devs to piece together the puzzle of modular building blocks within a fully customizable no-code framework.
This enables a Superchain ecosystem in which launching an L2 is as straightforward as deploying a smart contract to Ethereum today.
15/ Some notable RaaS providers that support the OP Stack are:
✦ @Calderaxyz
✦ @conduitxyz
✦ @alt_layer
✦ @ankr
✦ @gelatonetwork
Building a rollup is literally as easy as piecing together the modular configuration on a web UI. 🤯
Screenshots: @conduitxyz & @Calderaxyz
16/ Okay, this is starting to make sense.
$OP is not just OP Mainnet.
It's an entire multichain ecosystem.
17/ Exactly anon.
The Superchain is an ecosystem of app- and vertical-specific blockchains that can be customized at every level of the tech stack.
Launched within an interconnected and seamlessly interoperable network of chains.
18/ But why build on the OP Stack? 🤔
Good question.
After all, the market offers a myriad of different solutions, including various different SDKs to build customizable L1s or L2s.
The competition in the "stack wars" is real.
19/ I already outlined some of the reasons that make joining the Superchain attractive for builders.
However, not every OP stack based rollup will be part of the Superchain ecosystem.
Currently, the Superchain counts 28 member networks.
x.com/Th3Optimist/status/1805701662650290209
20/ However, there are way over 40 chains in total that are already live or currently being built on the OP Stack.
That makes the OP Stack the most adopted rollup SDK in the market.
To understand why, let's have a slightly more detailed look at the tech.
21/ What sets the OP stack apart, is that it's fully permissionless & modular.
Building an L2 on the @Arbitrum Nitro codebase requires DAO approval.
Anyone can build on the Bedrock version of the OP Stack.
The modularity on the other hand, allows for maximum customization.
22/ With this modularity expanding to the level of state validation mechanisms, the OP Stack is agnostic with regards to state validation mechanisms.
While the focus lies on fraud proofs, validity proofs & hybrid zk-fault proving will be added soon.
x.com/RedactedRes/status/1772274856027132391
23/ In addition to the broad DA layer support and the ability to support different (alt-)VMs, the OP stack is definitely in a strong position to continue to capture market share amid the modular expansion.
x.com/Optimism/status/1806689130732253606
24/ However many OP stack chains still don't have a live fault proving mechanism (let alone a permissionless one) live on mainnet.
That means users basically have to rely on the (centralized) sequencer not to submit invalid state roots.
25/ Progress is being made though, as fraud proofs went live just recently on OP mainnet.
x.com/Optimism/status/1800256837088145799
26/ Soon, these will be rolled out for other OP stack chains as well.
x.com/bkiepuszewski/status/1800531925398151286
27/ Bolstered by a strong ecosystem & community and fueled by RPGF rounds, innovation will continue to flourish and the future surely looks optimistic.
With stage 2 of decentralization underway (decentralized sequencer 👀), the @Optimism team will continue to ship.
28/ OP mainnet and @base alone (both part of the Superchain) account for >30% of the L2 market in terms of value secured on those networks.
Especially counting in all the other ecosystem chains as well, this percentage has been on the rise for a while.
29/ As innovation continues to flourish and the number of members in the Superchain continues to grow, the dominance will increase.
🧠 DYOR anon.
That's a wrap. I hope you've found this thread helpful! 🫡
Make sure to follow me @zerokn0wledge_ to stay ahead of the curve on the Superchain ecosystem. 🔴✨
Like/Repost of the below post is also highly appreciated! 🙏👇
9 more images on X
How the call played out · since 28 Jun 2024
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This piece takes a view on $OP, so that move is read against the call.
Bullish on OP despite the drawdown from its ATH, arguing Optimism keeps building the Superchain multichain ecosystem.
−93%
Moved against the call · over 2.3 years
- At publication
- $1.80
- Now
- $0.118
- vs BTC
- −95%
- After 1 month
- −3.2%
- After 3 months
- −2.8%
- After 1 year
- −70%
- High since
- +49% 08 Dec 2024
- Low since
- −95% 19 Aug 2026
Since then
No follow-up pieces on this subject yet. This is the latest take.
Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish call in a thesis or market take is tracked; explainers, lists, maps and mentions are neutral context. Not financial advice.