Optimism
- Ticker
- OP
- Category
- Scaling network
- Risk profile
- Volatile
What it is
An optimistic rollup that executes transactions off Ethereum and settles them there, built on an openly published stack that other networks also run.
Why this risk level
- Fees are paid in ether on the rollup rather than in OP, and the transactions still settle to Ethereum, which is where the final record lives
- Withdrawing directly to Ethereum passes through a challenge period measured in days; anything faster is a third-party bridge or liquidity provider taking that risk for a fee
- OP is a governance token in the Optimism Collective, including funding decisions for shared infrastructure — it is not a share of any chain's fee income
A plain-English risk overview for education, not investment advice. Risk profiles describe the asset's own characteristics, not a price forecast — always do your own research before buying.
Other coin guides
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