Executive Summary
In short, what is this upgrade proposal?
Impacted stakeholders & expected outcomes
Why the Collective should upgrade
The Optimism Foundation is proud to propose the first protocol upgrade to the Optimism Collective: Bedrock. The Bedrock release of the OP Stack represents the culmination of years of research and development by the Ethereum scaling community and is a complete rewrite of the core components of the Optimism architecture. This upgrade offers a new level of modularity, simplicity, and Ethereum equivalence for Layer 2 solutions, providing unprecedented performance and functionality.
Most users will not be impacted by the upgrade as the current mainnet is already EVM-equivalent. Users and projects that run both full and archive nodes, make use of deposits and withdrawals, and make assumptions about the block time on Optimism Mainnet will need to take action to prepare for the upgrade. To help ensure a smooth transition, a thorough changelog and stakeholder-specific requirements can be found below.
In addition to these technical improvements, the Bedrock upgrade is a significant step towards the multi-chain future. By creating a shared standard, the OP Stack, Bedrock sets the stage for a Cambrian explosion of aligned L2s. This is an opportunity for leadership in the Ethereum ecosystem.
We are confident that the post-Bedrock experience will be a positive change for developers in the Optimism ecosystem and have received consistent excitement for the upgrade from our partners. We are committed to making this upgrade a success and are eager to see the results in the months and years to come.
Technical Summary
Overview of architectural changes
Link to all protocol/API/tech specifications
Overview of ongoing security considerations incl. all audits and findings
At the highest level, the Bedrock release implements a modular architecture, separating the OP Stack into 3 components: consensus, execution, and settlement. These designs borrow heavily from the Engine API introduced for the Merge, and, as a result, an Ethereum execution client can be converted into an Optimism execution client in <2,000 lines of code. This is a huge win, paving the way for a multi-client future, and allowing for maximal use of Ethereumās battle-tested code.
Technical documentation for Bedrock is split into 3 main parts:
- An explainer detailing Bedrock and its major architectural choices.
- Protocol specifications for all major components of the codebase.
- Developer documentation for those using any APIs affected by the release.
Additionally, a summary of the security measures and considerations for Bedrock can be found in this blog post by OP Labs, which includes links to security audits and testing measures. Notably, the Bedrock release introduces a 2-phase withdrawal process, doubling down on bridge security, which proved to be a primary risk factor for chains in 2022. There is also a community security contest currently live. This program provides strong incentives for high-severity bugs, so itās possible that the program uncovers new findings. Results will be known on February 6, before any voting starts.
Impact Summary
Changes in performance characteristics
Time-of-upgrade considerations (downtime, etc)
Links to exhaustive upgrade documentation for impacted stakeholders
The Bedrock release enables performance improvements across the board, including transaction costs, throughput characteristics, and sync speeds. A detailed list of performance metrics for the release will be published by next week, with a link updated here when ready.
We estimate that the upgrade to Bedrock will take <4 hours. Unlike previous upgrades to Optimism, this release will not require a āregenesis,ā and historic chain data will still be accessible after the upgrade. As such, little action is required from end-users of Optimism other than being aware of that timing, during which deposits and transactions will be paused.
While the upgrade strictly improves on EVM equivalence, some application developers may be affected. While we have been in active touch with major partners, the developer community has also been actively notified over the past few months in 1:many communications. We maintain the following documentation pages for impacted developers:
- A guide by persona on what most developers need to prepare for the upgrade.
- A guide specifically for node operators, which are impacted most by the upgrade.
- A general FAQ page for the upgrade.
Action Plan
Mainnet Upgrade Timing
Contingency plans in case of last-minute bugs or issues
Plan for communication and education to the community
If this vote passes, the Bedrock upgrade will be scheduled for execution 2 weeks after the vote passes, on March 15, at 9:00 AM PST.
The upgrade overview documentation page describes mechanically how the upgrade will be executed if approved by the Token House, and the code here implements the migration logic from the old chain to Bedrock.
Optimismās Goerli testnet has already been successfully upgraded, with major partners following suit, without significant setbacks. However, in the event that substantial new information comes to light between a successful vote and execution of the upgrade, this proposal includes two fallback scenarios:
- In the event that a specific application has not prepared for the upgrade, and doing so would pose significant risk of end-users being negatively misled, then we will delay the execution of the upgrade by approximately 1-2 weeks in order to provide additional preparation time.
- In the event that a significant, new security risk is discovered, we may cancel the upgrade, requiring a new vote once the community has had time to react.
The Optimism Foundation and OP Labs will continue public communication efforts around the upgrade, including public communications and tweets reminding stakeholders of the upgrade in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the upgrade.
Conclusion
This proposal outlines the Optimism Collectiveās first Protocol upgrade of Optimism Mainnet to the Bedrock release. This upgrade aims to provide unprecedented modularity, simplicity, and Ethereum equivalence to the L2 network, with positive impacts on performance and security. Bedrock is the codebase which will help Optimism stand the test of time, and is also preparatory step towards the multi-chain future.
We expect the upgrade will take around 4 hours, with no loss of historical data. Detailed technical specifications and impact summaries are available for the upgrade.
We strongly believe that the Collective should upgrade Optimism Mainnet to the Bedrock release, take advantage of the benefits it brings, and to continue to play a leadership role in the scaling community.
For any further questions or concerns, we will be hosting an AMA on February 8th at 18:30 GMT in Discord to go over the proposal with team members from the Optimism Foundation and OP Labs.
LFG
