Optimism cofounder says Superchain is making "fast progress" toward decentralization

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Superchain wants to reach full decentralization: “It’s Stage 2 or bust”

It’s been a busy quarter for the Superchain as OP Mainnet, the layer-2 blockchain built with Optimism’s OP Stack, reached Stage 1 of decentralization in June.

While this was a big feat, the north star moment will be when every single chain within the Superchain hits “true decentralization,” Optimism Co-Founder and OP Labs CEO Karl Floersch, said during the Superchain Growth webinar with Token Relations.

(Listen to the conversation on Talking Tokens via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.)

“We are making fast progress there,” Floersch said. The first Superchain chains moving toward Stage 1 are Base, Metal, Mode and Zora, according to an Optimism Collective blog post.

“Stage 1 doesn’t matter,” Floersch joked. “It’s Stage 2 or bust. What really matters is getting to the end goal of decentralization as defined by the standard framework.”

Stage 1 has permissionless fault proof systems and works “to an extent,” but it still is seen as the path to decentralization with “training wheels,” Floersch said. “Stage 2 is when you remove those training wheels.”

To get to that point, there has to be “redundancy,” Floersch said. In layman’s terms, this means that the processes in place will check one another, and if one fails then the other comes in.

“In order for it to be decentralized, it needs to be on autopilot,” Floersch added.

And in order for it to be truly decentralized, there’s two things that are critically important: right to exit and right to voice.

In a decentralized system, right to exit means if there’s an upgrade to the system that users don’t like, they’ll be able to migrate out or fork away.

While right to voice is about highlighting community governance in a way that’s representative of its constituents in a distributed manner, Floersch said.

Stage 2 consists of having multiple proof systems, which is already in the works.

The TLDR: the Superchain has parallel systems of “sensors,” and one is currently running in production and the other will be “as soon as possible,” Floersch added.

“Then we flip the switch, go on autopilot and reach Stage 2.”

Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.

The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️

For this week’s Tuesday episode, we’re sharing the second quarterly Superchain webinar with Token Relations.

I was joined by Optimism Co-Founder and OP Labs CEO Karl Floersch and Skeletor, the co-founder of Wonderland, a core development group for web3. 

We talk about unifying the Superchain, decentralization, scaling the ecosystem, interoperability, ZK tech, future outlooks for the Optimism Collective and more.

Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 10AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!

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Monitoring blockchains

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Taking on the tokens 

The total crypto market cap increased/decreased 3.88% in the past 24-hours to $2.14 trillion. It is up 2.88% over a 7-day period.

As for the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap…

These metrics were taken prior to publication Tuesday morning EST.

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5. Ex-SEC Crypto and Cyber Enforcement Chief David Hirsch Joins McGuireWoods (Company Blog)

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Here’s some headlines and topics that you can talk about at your next dinner party, crypto event or on a first date to look smart (results may vary.) 

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Please note that this content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.