OP Labs: Multiproofs Design in OP Stack and Their Impact on the Ecosystem

OP Labs' Multiproofs Design and Its Ecosystem Impact

Original Title: “Multi-proof design in the OP Stack”

Author: Mark Tyneway, OP co-founder; protolambda, OPLabs researcher

Translator: Yvonne, MarsBit

You’ve heard of the security advantages of multi-client networks, but what if your favorite L2 could incorporate multiple proof schemes into its design? That’s the situation with the OP mainnet upgrade to Bedrock.

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Following the logic that client diversity is beneficial to the blockchain ecosystem, the OP Stack turns the OP mainnet into a modular blockchain that can accommodate proof scheme diversity. With the use of OP Stack and Bedrock’s modular design, builders can quickly utilize any type of existing proof and ensure the system is adaptable to future proof innovations.

Let’s delve into the technical side of this unique feature and discuss its wider impact on the ecosystem.

Issue: Proof schemes in Rollup design

Previously, rollup design iterations have mainly focused on creating a proof and making the system fit it. This approach has led to limited flexibility and adaptability to ever-changing technology. Due to this type of design, the L2 market has mostly revolved around optimistic proofs and validity proofs.

With the design of “Bedrock,” we wanted to change this narrative. We made modularity a key design principle of the Bedrock upgrade, building a system that can accommodate multiple proof types for builders to provide more secure and future-proof solutions.

Solution: Modularity, flexibility, and security

The ability to incorporate multiple proofs into the OP stack provides many benefits, with security being the most notable. Having multiple proofs can prevent any errors in one proof from becoming a pattern. This is similar to how multiple implementations of L1 clients provide better overall security. Vitalik wrote about how the Ethereum multi-client idea interacts with zk-evm. In that article, he pointed out that multi-client implementations are a form of technical decentralization, with the main benefit being that it can withstand errors in the network. If multiple independent teams/stakeholders maintain an implementation, it also leads to some form of social decentralization. The interests of each team are factored into the network roadmap.

Bedrock’s modular design has enabled multiple L2 client implementations to appear within the Optimism ecosystem, the first in L2. Like Vitalik and Ethereum, we are extending this idea to allow the OP stack to contain multiple proofs. This opens the door to adding zero-knowledge (ZK) validity proofs to the OP mainnet or other OP chains (such as Base) and ensures compatibility with future developments. The modular design of the OP stack makes it easy to adopt new technologies in a secure and battle-tested manner without major changes to the codebase.

How it Works?

The proof system in the OP stack is modularized through standardized on-chain APIs and off-chain actors. This allows for mixing and matching dispute contracts, making it easy to exchange proof schemes.

Standardized On-chain APIs

By standardizing on-chain APIs, Bedrock makes it possible to exchange proof schemes as long as they implement the standardized API. This means that new proof schemes can be dynamically added, and we can even create an m(n) scheme where multiple proof schemes are required to run a bridge.

Standardized Off-chain Actors

Off-chain actors or bots communicate with dispute contracts. The system creates a maximum extractable value (MEV) opportunity to incentivize honest behavior and protect the system, while maintaining the principle that participating in dispute games should always be profitable as an incentive to ensure their continued existence. Through this pattern, we are creating an open network of monitoring participants who can intervene in dispute resolution to ensure the system’s safety.

Two implementations of standardized off-chain actors are being researched.

The Future Belongs to Superchains

The Bedrock upgrade and its support for multiple proofs align with our vision for a scalable network that doesn’t disrupt our ecosystem, applications, or ability to collaborate. As the only L2 ecosystem designed for the simplicity of multiple clients and multiple proofs, Optimism will lead the industry towards a safer, more adaptable, more collaborative, and more optimistic future.

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