Imagine if your favorite app suddenly got faster, cheaper to use, and smoother overall. That’s basically what happened in the crypto world when Optimism, a layer 2 solution built on Ethereum, rolled out its major upgrade called Bedrock.
Optimism is one of the most popular tools for scaling Ethereum — making it faster and cheaper without changing the core of how Ethereum works. In June 2023, Optimism launched Bedrock, an upgrade that fundamentally changed how the network works — in a good way.
What Is Bedrock and Why Was It Introduced?
Think of Bedrock as a rebuild of Optimism’s core systems. It wasn’t just a patch or a tweak — it was a full-scale transformation designed to:
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Lower transaction fees
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Speed up fund transfers
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Make the system more compatible with Ethereum
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Make future upgrades easier
In short: it made Optimism much more efficient, developer-friendly, and future-ready.
What Did Bedrock Actually Change?
1. Cheaper Transactions
Bedrock introduced a new way to compress data and removed unnecessary fees tied to how information is sent to Ethereum’s base layer. This led to a 10–20% drop in gas fees compared to the older version of Optimism.
2. Faster Fund Transfers
Before Bedrock, it could take up to 10 minutes to move assets from Ethereum to Optimism. Now? Just 2–3 minutes. This is thanks to smarter syncing between Ethereum and Optimism.
3. Modular Design = Future-Proof
Bedrock was built like LEGO: different components can be updated or swapped out without rebuilding the whole system. This modular approach makes it easier to improve Optimism in the future without breaking anything.
4. Tighter Ethereum Integration
The upgrade made Optimism behave more like Ethereum. Developers can use the same tools, and apps can run almost exactly as they do on Ethereum itself — but with much better performance and lower costs.
How Bedrock Works Behind the Scenes (Without the Jargon)
Here’s what’s happening under the hood, in plain language:
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Separated components: Different parts of the system can be updated independently.
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Based on Ethereum’s tools: Bedrock reuses Ethereum’s most trusted software, especially the popular Go-Ethereum client (geth).
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No Proof-of-Stake: Optimism doesn’t rely on validators like Ethereum does. Instead, it uses something called block derivation — a different way to sync up with Ethereum that’s simpler and faster.
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Full support for key Ethereum features: Like EIP-1559 (a fee system), chain reorganizations (when Ethereum reshuffles blocks), and more.
What Does Bedrock Mean for You?
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For users: Lower fees, faster transfers, and smoother apps.
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For developers: Easier, more powerful tools to build the next generation of Web3 apps.
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For the crypto ecosystem: A big step toward scalable, user-friendly decentralized finance (DeFi).
Current Status as of August 2025
Daily Active Users (DAU)
In August, the number of daily active addresses on OP Mainnet has stabilized at approximately 108,000, indicating a slight rebound after the drop in June.
Total Value Locked (TVL)
The TVL on OP Mainnet is approximately $9.85 billion, which represents a 24.1% market share among Ethereum’s Layer 2 (L2) solutions.
Adoption of the OP Stack
Base (Coinbase)
The number of active addresses has surpassed 17.5 million.
TVL is approximately $4.1 billion.
World Chain (Worldcoin)
The number of active addresses is approximately 2.3 million.
TVL has reached approximately $550 million.
Unichain (Uniswap)
The number of active addresses is around 1.5 million.
TVL is approximately $640 million.
Recent Bedrock Updates
Bedrock 2.0 (March) and 2.1 (June) significantly improved efficiency and lowered transaction costs. Following the temporary chain split on June 7, a full post-mortem analysis was published in July, and fixes to prevent similar incidents have been implemented across the ecosystem.
Additional Activities in the OP Ecosystem
The implementation of Season 8 governance and the launch of SuperSwaps on Velodrome in June were completed successfully. The fourth round of RetroPGF (Retroactive Public Goods Funding) began in early August, which is one of the key mechanisms for supporting the ecosystem’s development. Approved funds from the OP DAO are being actively distributed for operations and infrastructure development.
Future Plans – Bedrock 3.0
The first components of the Bedrock 3.0 upgrade are currently being deployed on the testnet. The main goals, such as a further reduction in L1 fees and advanced account abstraction, remain on track for the end of the third quarter of 2025. Intensive development of the Superchain Registry is ongoing, which aims to standardize interoperability for DeFi applications within the ecosystem.
Summary
Optimism remains one of the most efficient and rapidly evolving rollups in the Ethereum ecosystem. With successive Bedrock upgrades and the growing adoption of OP Stack, the network continues to strengthen its position as a leading Layer 2 technology standard.
