From now on, will OP and Base become ‘family’? Maybe not, discussing the variables and prospects of superchain cooperation.

Will OP and Base become 'family'? Discussing variables and prospects of superchain cooperation.

Author: Haotian

I see everyone is still discussing the collaborative partnership between Base and OP, and here is my opinion: It seems to be just a short-term “verbal agreement” with a lot of uncertainties in the future.

The reason is simple. If the ratio and cooperative model are fixed, the responsibilities and profit distribution of both parties should be made transparent on the chain. By monitoring the fund allocation of the Sequencer-related addresses, we can understand the profit situation of both parties. Technically, it only requires adding a separate address in the Sequencer address sequence. Why hasn’t it been done?

The answer is, perhaps this is the first small step taken by the OP SuperChain plan. A conclusive conclusion can only be reached after the shared operation model of the Sequencer is successfully implemented.

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What is the shared Sequencer model?

In the OP Stack multi-chain environment, there will be a unified Sequencer component (which can be deployed in a distributed manner), which will coordinate and connect the circulation of assets and data across multiple chains.

In my opinion, OP Stack uses the MIT open source license to attract developers to build L2 chains based on OP Stack with one click, which is only the first step. The second step is to achieve the sharing of the Sequencer component between multiple chains, and the third step is to build applications in multiple chains concurrently.

Only by achieving Sequencer sharing can OP build a Layer 2 family. OP official has also mentioned that although everyone can independently build their own Sequencer, it is difficult to do so. Sharing is in line with the trend, just like everyone using Ethereum as a consensus security layer to build Layer 2.

In fact, not only OP Stack, but ZK Stack is also working on its own shared Sequencer plan. Only when this path is successful, OP Stack can have a multi-chain communication protocol similar to Cosmos IBC protocol, which can enable atomic swaps and other transactions. Moreover, compared with cross-chain communication like IBC that requires a relay chain, the shared Sequencer component in Stack is inherently a relay component, which can achieve unified management of messages and assets and state changes between heterogeneous chains.

Of course, having a shared Sequencer is not enough. There should also be a unified Security Council and consistent law of chains, which are necessary elements to ensure the participation of the shared Sequencer in the governance of multiple chains. (This is emphasized in the cooperation declaration this time.)

Why are there so many uncertainties?

1) Although Base has shown remarkable performance, it is still unknown what it will develop into. Giving up 2.75% of OP tokens seems hasty;

2) SuperChain needs to balance the overall interests of dozens or even hundreds of chains. No one knows what surprises OP Stack will bring in the future. Premature allocation of interests is not conducive to the realization of the grand vision;

3) A set of on-chain governance protocols and interest distribution protocols based on the shared Sequencer is necessary. It will naturally be introduced when the future technological conditions are mature, in order to stimulate greater multi-chain activity.

It is worth noting that Base was originally part of the OP SuperChain grand plan and will definitely become part of the Super Chain with shared Sequencer in the future. At that time, how to distribute profits and whether to reflect it on the chain will be discussed. Currently, both parties have not achieved Sequencer sharing, so they can only inspire the market through verbal agreements off the chain, giving everyone a beautiful vision of the common prosperity of the OP Stack family.

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