Optimistic Rollups

A way to speed up Ethereum by processing transactions separately, assuming they're valid. Anyone can challenge suspicious transactions.

Example

Using Optimism to trade with much lower fees, with a 7-day waiting period when moving money back to main Ethereum.

Related Terms

Advanced Concepts

⚙️How It Works

  1. 1

    Submit Transactions

    Users send transactions to the L2 sequencer

  2. 2

    Optimistic Execution

    Transactions are processed assuming they're valid

  3. 3

    Challenge Period

    7 days for anyone to submit a fraud proof if invalid

  4. 4

    Finalization

    After challenge period, transactions are finalized on L1

⚖️Optimistic vs ZK Rollups

Featureoptimisticzk
Withdrawal Time7 daysMinutes-hours
EVM CompatibilityFullVaries
MaturityMore establishedNewer tech
Proof CostOnly if challengedEvery batch
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