In the crypto world, Bedrock is the name of one of the most significant and large-scale tech upgrades for the Optimism network.
Optimism is the so-called Layer 2 blockchain built on Ethereum, aimed at making transactions way faster and cheaper while maintaining Ethereum's security. The Bedrock update dropped in June 2023 and literally rewrote the playbook for them.
Here's a quick rundown of what it does and why it's so important:
1. Dramatic reduction in fees (Gas Fees)
Before Bedrock, fees on Optimism were already low, but post-upgrade they dropped by another 40% to 70%. This was made possible by optimizing how data is compressed and sent to Ethereum's mainnet.
2. Minimizing deposit times
Before this upgrade, when you were moving funds from Ethereum to Optimism, you had to wait around ten minutes. Bedrock cut that time down to under 3 minutes.
3. Transitioning to 'Superchain'
This is probably Bedrock's long-term goal. The upgrade reshaped Optimism's architecture to become what's known as the OP Stack – a modular open-source code.
Thanks to OP Stack, any project can easily spin up its own Layer 2 blockchain that's compatible with Optimism. The most notable example of this is the Base network from crypto exchange Coinbase, along with networks like Zora and Worldchain (from Worldcoin). Together, they form the 'Superchain'.
4. Maximum compatibility with Ethereum (Ethereum Equivalence)
Bedrock brought Optimism as close to Ethereum's code as possible. For developers, this means they can copy and paste their smart contracts from Ethereum into Optimism with zero effort and without the risk of bugs due to code discrepancies.
In short: #bedrock the foundational layer (the base) that made Optimism cheaper and faster
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