Optimism isn't in the Zypto App yet. Post the request to your followers, chains with the most demand get prioritized. All network data below stays live regardless.
Ethereum's speed layer, explained.
Ethereum is secure but can get slow and expensive when busy. Optimism is a “rollup”: it does the heavy lifting off to the side, then files a compressed summary back to Ethereum. You keep Ethereum's security, at a fraction of the cost. Four ideas make that work.
What a rollup is
Optimism bundles many transactions, executes them off-chain, then posts the compressed batch to Ethereum. Many transactions, one L1 footprint.
Inherits Ethereum's security
Because the data and proofs live on Ethereum, Optimism doesn't need its own validator set, it borrows the security of the L1 beneath it.
Optimistic + fault proofs
Batches are assumed valid, but anyone can challenge a bad one during a window. If they're right, the cheat is reverted, honesty is the only winning move.
Gas is paid in ETH
You spend ETH for fees, usually a cent or two. OP is a separate governance token that lets holders vote on the network's future, not a gas token.
Execute off-chain
The Optimism sequencer orders your transaction and runs it in milliseconds, so it feels instant and costs cents.
Post data to L1
Transaction data is compressed and written to Ethereum as EIP-4844 blobs, where it stays available for anyone to verify.
Settle & finalize
A challenge window lets watchers dispute any invalid result with a fault proof. If unchallenged, the state is final and secured by Ethereum.
- ~30× lower fees than Ethereum L1
- Same wallets & tools, MetaMask, EVM
- Same security root, Ethereum L1
- Bridging back to L1 has a challenge delay
Think of Ethereum as the courthouse and Optimism as the fast lane: most activity happens on L2, but the final record and disputes live on L1.
An OP Stack Layer 2.
Live, on-chain numbers that show how much real activity Optimism settles, usage, cost savings and security, not price.
Steady activity. EIP-4844 blobs cut data-posting costs sharply, which keeps fees on Optimism in the cent range during normal load.
Unique addresses transacting each day, 7-day average, a proxy for real users and apps.
What people build on it.
Optimism hosts a broad DeFi and consumer ecosystem, the same apps you know, running cheaper. It also anchors the Superchain, a set of chains that share the OP Stack. Here's the landscape.
DeFi & lending
Spot trading, lending and yield, Velodrome, Aave, Uniswap, Synthetix. $880M in total value locked.
Stablecoins
Native and bridged USDC/USDT make Optimism a low-cost hub for stablecoin payments and savings.
The Superchain
Other chains, including Base, build on the OP Stack and share standards with Optimism, forming the Superchain.
RetroPGF
The Optimism Collective funds public goods through Retroactive Public Goods Funding, rewarding work that already helped the ecosystem.
Hold, swap and spend Optimism assets.
Optimism is fully integrated. Self-custody OP and bridged assets, pay cent-level fees in ETH, swap cross-chain with no separate bridge, and spend a subset through Zypto Pay.
Available in the Zypto App · OP + popular Optimism assets
Gas on Optimism is paid in ETH. Live prices link to full price pages. Any asset in the Zypto App is held in self-custody, your keys, your coins.
Get these in Zypto AppBe the reason Optimism ships next.
Optimism isn't in the Zypto App yet. Post the request to your followers and ask them to add their voice, we prioritize the chains with the most demand. Everything above stays fully live either way.
Accepted as Payment
Pay bills, top-ups and 24,000+ products with these assets through Zypto Pay. Request any app-available asset to be added as payment.
Swap & cross-chain
Move between Optimism, Ethereum and other chains without a separate bridge, Zypto routes the best path automatically, including the L1↔L2 hop.
From experiment to OP Stack.
What is Optimism in one sentence?
What's the difference between a Layer 1 and a Layer 2?
Do I need OP to use Optimism?
What is the OP Stack and the Superchain?
Is Optimism secure?
Is Optimism available in the Zypto App?
The Ethereum family.
Learn more.
Zypto App
Hold Optimism in self-custody.
Buy OP and Optimism assets in seconds, pay cent-level fees in ETH, swap cross-chain with no bridge, and spend from a real Visa card, all in one self-custodial app.
Self-custodial · non-custodial · your keys, your coins.
