OP Labs, the development team behind Ethereum layer-2 Optimism, has successfully integrated fault proofs into its smart contracts. This development marks the achievement of “Stage 1” of decentralization, as outlined by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The team has also announced that four other networks within the OP Stack ecosystem, including Base, Metal, Mode, and Zora, will soon implement fault proofs as well.
Users on Optimism can now initiate withdrawals of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens independently, without the need for any trusted third parties, as stated by OP Labs. In case the team’s sequencer attempts to process invalid withdrawals, users can challenge and remove them by submitting a fault-proof demonstrating the invalidity.
Despite the new fault-proof system, the post clarifies that the sequencer can still potentially block valid withdrawals or process invalid ones. However, this can only be done through a six-of-eight vote from the Optimism Security Council, overriding the fault proofs. The default validation process for withdrawals now lies with users, and any override can only occur through a Council vote.
This transition to “Stage 1” is seen as a stepping stone towards achieving full decentralization or “Stage 2” in the future. At Stage 2, the Security Council will only have the power to override fault proofs in the case of conflicting proving systems due to a bug.
The new fault system, named “Cannon,” was a collaborative effort involving multiple teams, including OP Labs, Base network, and Sunnyside Labs. The proposal for this change was approved through Optimism’s governance organizations, Token House and Citizens’ House.
Looking ahead, Optimism plans to implement multiple proof systems in the future to ensure the confirmation of only valid transactions by the sequencer, a concept referred to as “multi-proof nirvana.” OP Labs assures that the network remains secure with the implementation of the new code and has safeguards in place for swift action in case of any code bugs.
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Optimism founder Karl Floersch expressed optimism about the progress towards decentralization, acknowledging the challenges faced along the way. He emphasized the importance of building a secure proof system and highlighted the ongoing efforts to move towards Stage 2 following the successful completion of Stage 1.
Overall, the integration of fault proofs on Optimism signifies a significant milestone towards decentralization in layer-2 networks, aligning with Vitalik Buterin’s vision for the future of Ethereum’s scalability solutions.