Network
Launch Date
Consensus
Note
Sepolia
Oct 2021
PoW
Like-for-like representation of Ethereum
Görli
Jan 2019
PoA
Proof-of-Authority
Kiln
Mar 2022
PoS
Post-Merge (for ETH2), shadow fork of the mainnet
Kintsugi
Dec 2021
PoS
DEPRECATED, use Kiln; post-Merge (for ETH2)
Ropsten
Nov 2016
PoW
DEPRECATED, use Sepolia; the Merge to happen on Jun 8, 2022
Rinkeby
Apr 2017
PoA
DEPRECATED, use Görli and Görli Faucet
Kovan
Mar 2017
PoA
DEPRECATED, use Sepolia or Görli
List of active and deprecated Ethereum testnets, including Kintsugi.
Features
Optimistic rollup 
ZK-rollup 
Proof
Uses fraud proofs to prove transaction validity. 
Uses validity (zero-knowledge) proofs to prove transaction validity. 
Capital efficiency
Requires waiting through a 1-week delay (dispute period) before withdrawing funds. 
Users can withdraw funds immediately because validity proofs provide incontrovertible evidence of the authenticity of off-chain transactions. 
Data compression
Publishes full transaction data as calldata to Ethereum Mainnet, which increases rollup costs. 
Doesn't need to publish transaction data on Ethereum because ZK-SNARKs and ZK-STARKs already guarantee the accuracy of the rollup state. 
EVM compatibility
Uses a simulation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which allows it to run arbitrary logic and support smart contracts. 
Doesn't widely support EVM computation, although a few EVM-compatible ZK-rollups have appeared. 
Rollup costs
Reduces costs since it publishes minimal data on Ethereum and doesn't have to post proofs for transactions, except in special circumstances. 
Faces higher overhead from costs involved in generating and verifying proofs for every transaction block. ZK proofs require specialized, expensive hardware to create and have high on-chain verification costs. 
Trust assumptions
Doesn't require a trusted setup. 
Requires a trusted setup to work. 
Liveness requirements
Verifiers are needed to keep tabs on the actual rollup state and the one referenced in the state root to detect fraud. 
Users don't need someone to watch the L2 chain to detect fraud. 
Security properties 
Relies on cryptoeconomic incentives to assure users of rollup security. 
Relies on cryptographic guarantees for security. 
Start building
on Alchemy.
Sign up for free
Start building on Optimism.
Sign up for free
Start building on Arbitrum.
Sign up for free
Start building on Ethereum.
Sign up for free
Start building on Polygon.
Sign up for free
Start building on Starknet.
Sign up for free
Start building on Flow.
Sign up for free
kiln faucet
Get free Kiln ETH.
Start building today
Goerli faucet
Get free Goerli ETH.
Start building today
SEPOLIA FAUCET
Get free Sepolia ETH.
Start Building Today
mumbai faucet
Get free Mumbai Matic.
Start building today
rinkeby faucet
Get free Rinkeby
ETH.
Start building today
Start building on Ethereum.
Get started for free
Start building on Ethereum.
Get started for free
Start building on Flow.
Get started for free
Start building on Polygon.
Get started for free
Start building on Starknet.
Get started for free
Start building on Optimism.
Get started for free
Start building on Solana.
Get started for free
Start building on Solana.
Sign up for beta access
Start building on Solana.
Join the waitlist
Arbitrum logo
Start building on Arbitrum.
Get started for free
Build with Alchemy's
Gas Manager & Bundler APIs
Learn
Solidity at
Alchemy
University
Get started today
Build with Alchemy's
Gas Manager & Bundler APIs
curl 
https://release.solana.com/v1.10.32/solana-install-init-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.exe 
--output 
C:\solana-install-tmp\solana-install-init.exe 
--create-dirs
Choosing a Blockchain
WHY OPTIMISM

Six Reasons to Choose Optimism for Blockchain Development

Discover Why Developers Choose to Build on Optimism
Last Updated:
May 5, 2023
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Table of Contents

{{building-on-optimism}}

As adoption has increased on Ethereum, the time it takes to complete a transaction has also steadily increased. This has given rise to the current scalability issues faced by users of Ethereum, and the explosion of Layer 2 protocols that aim to solve it.

Rollups like Optimism respond to the problem of Ethereum's scalability by moving execution onto a different layer of the blockchain stack. Transaction data is put on the main chain, but the transactions are not executed on Ethereum directly. Instead, they are rolled up into batches and processed at much higher frequencies.

This helps accelerate the transaction speed of using the Ethereum blockchain, while significantly lowering gas fees.

As one of the largest Layer 2 solutions, it's critical for developers to understand what Optimism is, and how it works. Along with those details, this article will cover six reasons developers should build on Optimism, and how to

What is Optimism?

Optimism is a Layer-2 rollup blockchain built for scaling the Ethereum blockchain. It's an offchain scaling solution which launched in 2022 for mass adoption.

Like other Layer 2 scaling solutions,  is designed to increase Ethereum's transaction throughput and lower transaction costs by "rolling up" thousands of transactions into a single block. Unlike "zk-rollup" protocols like zkSync, however, Optimism uses "optimistic" rollup technology - the main alternative.

Optimistic rollups get this name because they optimistically assume that all the transactions contained within a rollup are valid. These networks give everyone on the network a certain amount of time, usually a week, to contest fraudulent transactions.

The benefit of this type of rollup is that it’s fast. Because the network assumes that transactions are correct, it doesn’t need to waste time confirming each transaction individually.

The drawback of this system is that if a transaction isn't flagged as incorrect then it is processed as valid. Plus, it usually takes about a week to officially withdraw on-chain funds

Why Developers Choose Optimism for Blockchain Development

1. EVM Equivalence

The Optimism rollup stack utilizes a tool called the Optimistic Virtual Machine (OVM) for its smart contract execution. Although different from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), both chains are mutually compatible. 

The advantage of using such a system is that smart contract developers who are already comfortable with dapp development for the EVM do not need to learn an additional programming language or frameworks to build on the OVM.

Optimism reuses the same programming languages common to the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Solidity and Vyper, and toolchains like Ethers and Hardhat.

The EVM equivalence of the Optimism rollup is possible because the OVM fully supports the instruction set of the EVM: opcodes.

Opcodes are what enable smart contract execution on the Ethereum blockchain network. 

2. Scalability

The primary reason for Optimism's existence is to help solve the scalability problem of Ethereum. Without Layer 2 networks, computing throughput on Ethereum is relatively slow, with high gas fees.

By batching transactions, however, the Optimism rollup solution can scale the rate of transaction throughput upwards of 10x to 100x the Ethereum mainnet. Currently, it's estimated that Optimism can process transactions at about 2,000 per seconds (TPS). Ethereum operates with a TPS of roughly 10-12.

3. Lower Costs

By building applications on Optimism, end-users do not have to deal with the expensive cost of transactions on Ethereum.

Optimism rollups help to reduce the cost of gas per transaction by breaking the transaction fee into two - L2 execution fee and L1 security fee. 

What is Optimism's L2 Execution Fee?

The L2 execution fee (or Layer 2 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas utilized by a transaction when it is being processed on the Optimism network. This L2 execution cost can be calculated by multiplying the L2 gas price with the L2 gas used (i.e., Layer 2 Gas Fee = L2 Gas Price * L2 Gas Used).

What is Optimism's L1 Security Fee?

The L1 security fee (also known as the Layer 1 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas used by that same transaction when its data is published to the Ethereum mainnet. The L1 security fee on Optimism can be calculated by multiplying the fee scalar with the gas price.

This is given as L1 Gas Fee  = Fee Scalar * L1 Gas Price * (Calldata + Fixed Overhead), where Fee Scalar is 1, Calldata is the input data of a transaction and the Fixed Overhead cost is the additional processing required to add the transaction to a largerbatch.   

The sum of the L2 execution fee and the L1 security fee is the total amount of gas fee for a transaction on Optimism. In some cases, the standard cost of gas on Optimism is only 0.001 gwei, making Optimism a far cheaper network for most users and dapps. 

4. Access to Liquidity Within the Optimism Ecosystem

One of the major benefits a developer has for building apps on Optimism is access to a deep pool of liquidity.

For example, most of the major Decentralize Finance (DeFi) protocols in the world are on the Ethereum mainnet, and they have their forks on the Optimism blockchain.

Any developer can easily plug into these DeFi protocols and utilize their liquidity to provide financial instruments for their end users. 

With a total value locked (TVL) across Optimism of over $3 Billion, developers can implement products that utilize DEXs, synthetics, lending services, derivatives, and many more protocols with readily available liquidity. 

5. Fraud Proof Mechanisms

The Optimism rollup uses a technique known as Fraud Validity Proofs for verifying the data on its network.

The Optimism network assumes all transactions and activities on its protocol are true for a period of time, and when they are verified, they can be sent to Ethereum for a final state update.

The period of time is commonly referred to as the Challenge period and takes approximately seven days.

This mechanism ensures that there will be no invalid state translation on the network protocol. 

This novel approach to validating the legitimacy of an on-chain transaction is one of the major reasons to consider building dapps on Optimism.

6. Better Smart Contract Security

Optimism makes it easier for smart contracts to be properly audited because developers can piggyback on the systems put in place to test dapps on Ethereum directly.

Most blockchain applications deal with people’s money, so there must be a high level of thoughtfulness when building such applications.

And because the Optimism Virtual Machine (OVM) is equivalent with the EVM, it shares the same level of on-chain security.

Start Developing on Optimism

Developing on Optimism is simple. To do so:

  1. Get an Optimism RPC endpoint URL from Alchemy
  2. Connect your wallet to the Optimism network
  3. Get testnet ETH from a free Goerli Faucet
  4. Review Optimism JSON-RPC API endpoints
  5. Start building your smart contracts in IDEs like Remix
ALCHEMY SUPERNODE - ETHEREUM NODE API

Scale to any size, without any errors

Alchemy Supernode finally makes it possible to scale blockchain applications without all the headaches. Plus, our legendary support will guide you every step of the way.

Get started for free
Supernode footer
Choosing a Blockchain
WHY OPTIMISM

6 Reasons to Choose Optimism for Blockchain Development

Discover Why Developers Choose to Build on Optimism
Last Updated:
May 5, 2023
Last Updated:
April 20, 2023
Don't miss an update
Sign up for our newsletter to get alpha, key insights, and killer resources.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Table of Contents

Talk to an Expert

Learn how Alchemy's blockchain developer tools can help your business succeed in web3!
Valid number
Thank you! An Alchemy expert will be in touch with you shortly!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

{{building-on-optimism}}

As adoption has increased on Ethereum, the time it takes to complete a transaction has also steadily increased. This has given rise to the current scalability issues faced by users of Ethereum, and the explosion of Layer 2 protocols that aim to solve it.

Rollups like Optimism respond to the problem of Ethereum's scalability by moving execution onto a different layer of the blockchain stack. Transaction data is put on the main chain, but the transactions are not executed on Ethereum directly. Instead, they are rolled up into batches and processed at much higher frequencies.

This helps accelerate the transaction speed of using the Ethereum blockchain, while significantly lowering gas fees.

As one of the largest Layer 2 solutions, it's critical for developers to understand what Optimism is, and how it works. Along with those details, this article will cover six reasons developers should build on Optimism, and how to

What is Optimism?

Optimism is a Layer-2 rollup blockchain built for scaling the Ethereum blockchain. It's an offchain scaling solution which launched in 2022 for mass adoption.

Like other Layer 2 scaling solutions,  is designed to increase Ethereum's transaction throughput and lower transaction costs by "rolling up" thousands of transactions into a single block. Unlike "zk-rollup" protocols like zkSync, however, Optimism uses "optimistic" rollup technology - the main alternative.

Optimistic rollups get this name because they optimistically assume that all the transactions contained within a rollup are valid. These networks give everyone on the network a certain amount of time, usually a week, to contest fraudulent transactions.

The benefit of this type of rollup is that it’s fast. Because the network assumes that transactions are correct, it doesn’t need to waste time confirming each transaction individually.

The drawback of this system is that if a transaction isn't flagged as incorrect then it is processed as valid. Plus, it usually takes about a week to officially withdraw on-chain funds

Why Developers Choose Optimism for Blockchain Development

1. EVM Equivalence

The Optimism rollup stack utilizes a tool called the Optimistic Virtual Machine (OVM) for its smart contract execution. Although different from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), both chains are mutually compatible. 

The advantage of using such a system is that smart contract developers who are already comfortable with dapp development for the EVM do not need to learn an additional programming language or frameworks to build on the OVM.

Optimism reuses the same programming languages common to the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Solidity and Vyper, and toolchains like Ethers and Hardhat.

The EVM equivalence of the Optimism rollup is possible because the OVM fully supports the instruction set of the EVM: opcodes.

Opcodes are what enable smart contract execution on the Ethereum blockchain network. 

2. Scalability

The primary reason for Optimism's existence is to help solve the scalability problem of Ethereum. Without Layer 2 networks, computing throughput on Ethereum is relatively slow, with high gas fees.

By batching transactions, however, the Optimism rollup solution can scale the rate of transaction throughput upwards of 10x to 100x the Ethereum mainnet. Currently, it's estimated that Optimism can process transactions at about 2,000 per seconds (TPS). Ethereum operates with a TPS of roughly 10-12.

3. Lower Costs

By building applications on Optimism, end-users do not have to deal with the expensive cost of transactions on Ethereum.

Optimism rollups help to reduce the cost of gas per transaction by breaking the transaction fee into two - L2 execution fee and L1 security fee. 

What is Optimism's L2 Execution Fee?

The L2 execution fee (or Layer 2 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas utilized by a transaction when it is being processed on the Optimism network. This L2 execution cost can be calculated by multiplying the L2 gas price with the L2 gas used (i.e., Layer 2 Gas Fee = L2 Gas Price * L2 Gas Used).

What is Optimism's L1 Security Fee?

The L1 security fee (also known as the Layer 1 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas used by that same transaction when its data is published to the Ethereum mainnet. The L1 security fee on Optimism can be calculated by multiplying the fee scalar with the gas price.

This is given as L1 Gas Fee  = Fee Scalar * L1 Gas Price * (Calldata + Fixed Overhead), where Fee Scalar is 1, Calldata is the input data of a transaction and the Fixed Overhead cost is the additional processing required to add the transaction to a largerbatch.   

The sum of the L2 execution fee and the L1 security fee is the total amount of gas fee for a transaction on Optimism. In some cases, the standard cost of gas on Optimism is only 0.001 gwei, making Optimism a far cheaper network for most users and dapps. 

4. Access to Liquidity Within the Optimism Ecosystem

One of the major benefits a developer has for building apps on Optimism is access to a deep pool of liquidity.

For example, most of the major Decentralize Finance (DeFi) protocols in the world are on the Ethereum mainnet, and they have their forks on the Optimism blockchain.

Any developer can easily plug into these DeFi protocols and utilize their liquidity to provide financial instruments for their end users. 

With a total value locked (TVL) across Optimism of over $3 Billion, developers can implement products that utilize DEXs, synthetics, lending services, derivatives, and many more protocols with readily available liquidity. 

5. Fraud Proof Mechanisms

The Optimism rollup uses a technique known as Fraud Validity Proofs for verifying the data on its network.

The Optimism network assumes all transactions and activities on its protocol are true for a period of time, and when they are verified, they can be sent to Ethereum for a final state update.

The period of time is commonly referred to as the Challenge period and takes approximately seven days.

This mechanism ensures that there will be no invalid state translation on the network protocol. 

This novel approach to validating the legitimacy of an on-chain transaction is one of the major reasons to consider building dapps on Optimism.

6. Better Smart Contract Security

Optimism makes it easier for smart contracts to be properly audited because developers can piggyback on the systems put in place to test dapps on Ethereum directly.

Most blockchain applications deal with people’s money, so there must be a high level of thoughtfulness when building such applications.

And because the Optimism Virtual Machine (OVM) is equivalent with the EVM, it shares the same level of on-chain security.

Start Developing on Optimism

Developing on Optimism is simple. To do so:

  1. Get an Optimism RPC endpoint URL from Alchemy
  2. Connect your wallet to the Optimism network
  3. Get testnet ETH from a free Goerli Faucet
  4. Review Optimism JSON-RPC API endpoints
  5. Start building your smart contracts in IDEs like Remix

As adoption has increased on Ethereum, the time it takes to complete a transaction has also steadily increased. This has given rise to the current scalability issues faced by users of Ethereum, and the explosion of Layer 2 protocols that aim to solve it.

Rollups like Optimism respond to the problem of Ethereum's scalability by moving execution onto a different layer of the blockchain stack. Transaction data is put on the main chain, but the transactions are not executed on Ethereum directly. Instead, they are rolled up into batches and processed at much higher frequencies.

This helps accelerate the transaction speed of using the Ethereum blockchain, while significantly lowering gas fees.

As one of the largest Layer 2 solutions, it's critical for developers to understand what Optimism is, and how it works. Along with those details, this article will cover six reasons developers should build on Optimism, and how to

What is Optimism?

Optimism is a Layer-2 rollup blockchain built for scaling the Ethereum blockchain. It's an offchain scaling solution which launched in 2022 for mass adoption.

Like other Layer 2 scaling solutions,  is designed to increase Ethereum's transaction throughput and lower transaction costs by "rolling up" thousands of transactions into a single block. Unlike "zk-rollup" protocols like zkSync, however, Optimism uses "optimistic" rollup technology - the main alternative.

Optimistic rollups get this name because they optimistically assume that all the transactions contained within a rollup are valid. These networks give everyone on the network a certain amount of time, usually a week, to contest fraudulent transactions.

The benefit of this type of rollup is that it’s fast. Because the network assumes that transactions are correct, it doesn’t need to waste time confirming each transaction individually.

The drawback of this system is that if a transaction isn't flagged as incorrect then it is processed as valid. Plus, it usually takes about a week to officially withdraw on-chain funds

Why Developers Choose Optimism for Blockchain Development

1. EVM Equivalence

The Optimism rollup stack utilizes a tool called the Optimistic Virtual Machine (OVM) for its smart contract execution. Although different from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), both chains are mutually compatible. 

The advantage of using such a system is that smart contract developers who are already comfortable with dapp development for the EVM do not need to learn an additional programming language or frameworks to build on the OVM.

Optimism reuses the same programming languages common to the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Solidity and Vyper, and toolchains like Ethers and Hardhat.

The EVM equivalence of the Optimism rollup is possible because the OVM fully supports the instruction set of the EVM: opcodes.

Opcodes are what enable smart contract execution on the Ethereum blockchain network. 

2. Scalability

The primary reason for Optimism's existence is to help solve the scalability problem of Ethereum. Without Layer 2 networks, computing throughput on Ethereum is relatively slow, with high gas fees.

By batching transactions, however, the Optimism rollup solution can scale the rate of transaction throughput upwards of 10x to 100x the Ethereum mainnet. Currently, it's estimated that Optimism can process transactions at about 2,000 per seconds (TPS). Ethereum operates with a TPS of roughly 10-12.

3. Lower Costs

By building applications on Optimism, end-users do not have to deal with the expensive cost of transactions on Ethereum.

Optimism rollups help to reduce the cost of gas per transaction by breaking the transaction fee into two - L2 execution fee and L1 security fee. 

What is Optimism's L2 Execution Fee?

The L2 execution fee (or Layer 2 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas utilized by a transaction when it is being processed on the Optimism network. This L2 execution cost can be calculated by multiplying the L2 gas price with the L2 gas used (i.e., Layer 2 Gas Fee = L2 Gas Price * L2 Gas Used).

What is Optimism's L1 Security Fee?

The L1 security fee (also known as the Layer 1 Gas Fee) is the amount of gas used by that same transaction when its data is published to the Ethereum mainnet. The L1 security fee on Optimism can be calculated by multiplying the fee scalar with the gas price.

This is given as L1 Gas Fee  = Fee Scalar * L1 Gas Price * (Calldata + Fixed Overhead), where Fee Scalar is 1, Calldata is the input data of a transaction and the Fixed Overhead cost is the additional processing required to add the transaction to a largerbatch.   

The sum of the L2 execution fee and the L1 security fee is the total amount of gas fee for a transaction on Optimism. In some cases, the standard cost of gas on Optimism is only 0.001 gwei, making Optimism a far cheaper network for most users and dapps. 

4. Access to Liquidity Within the Optimism Ecosystem

One of the major benefits a developer has for building apps on Optimism is access to a deep pool of liquidity.

For example, most of the major Decentralize Finance (DeFi) protocols in the world are on the Ethereum mainnet, and they have their forks on the Optimism blockchain.

Any developer can easily plug into these DeFi protocols and utilize their liquidity to provide financial instruments for their end users. 

With a total value locked (TVL) across Optimism of over $3 Billion, developers can implement products that utilize DEXs, synthetics, lending services, derivatives, and many more protocols with readily available liquidity. 

5. Fraud Proof Mechanisms

The Optimism rollup uses a technique known as Fraud Validity Proofs for verifying the data on its network.

The Optimism network assumes all transactions and activities on its protocol are true for a period of time, and when they are verified, they can be sent to Ethereum for a final state update.

The period of time is commonly referred to as the Challenge period and takes approximately seven days.

This mechanism ensures that there will be no invalid state translation on the network protocol. 

This novel approach to validating the legitimacy of an on-chain transaction is one of the major reasons to consider building dapps on Optimism.

6. Better Smart Contract Security

Optimism makes it easier for smart contracts to be properly audited because developers can piggyback on the systems put in place to test dapps on Ethereum directly.

Most blockchain applications deal with people’s money, so there must be a high level of thoughtfulness when building such applications.

And because the Optimism Virtual Machine (OVM) is equivalent with the EVM, it shares the same level of on-chain security.

Start Developing on Optimism

Developing on Optimism is simple. To do so:

  1. Get an Optimism RPC endpoint URL from Alchemy
  2. Connect your wallet to the Optimism network
  3. Get testnet ETH from a free Goerli Faucet
  4. Review Optimism JSON-RPC API endpoints
  5. Start building your smart contracts in IDEs like Remix

{{building-on-optimism}}

Contact Us

Talk to an expert at Alchemy to answer all of your product questions.
Valid number
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Build blockchain magic with Alchemy

Alchemy combines the most powerful web3 developer products and tools with resources, community and legendary support.

Get started for free