At Optimism, our mission is to build an internet that benefits all, owned by all. We are working to scale Ethereum and empower developers and users worldwide. At the heart of our vision is the Superchain—a unified network of interconnected chains that allows users and developers to interact seamlessly, just as they would with any web2 application. The goal is to make Ethereum feel like a single, scalable platform capable of supporting billions of users and millions of developers.

Interoperability is the key to achieving this vision, and it’s the central focus of the Optimism Collective’s roadmap for 2025. Our unified objective for 2025 is:

a set of interoperable Stage 1 chains doing $250m per month in cross-chain asset transfers.

By making it easier for chains to communicate and share users, data, and assets, interoperability will unlock the full potential of the Superchain. The Collective’s contributors, teams, and growth programs will be focused on driving the development and adoption of interoperability in 2025.

Overcoming the Hurdles of Multi-Chain Ecosystems

Today, Ethereum and other blockchain ecosystems suffer from fragmentation. To transfer assets or data between chains, users must rely on Layer 1 Ethereum, which is costly and slow. This creates significant friction for both developers and users. Developers face the "cold start" problem of managing complex, costly multi-chain infrastructures, while users experience a fragmented and confusing interface.

Think of it this way: if today’s chains were cities, they exist with unpaved roads between them. This makes it difficult to exchange goods and limits growth opportunities. But just as highways transformed cities, native interoperability will enable smooth, efficient communication between chains, paving the way for the Superchain’s success.

With Superchain interoperability, assets and data will become fungible and portable across chains. This means application developers can create applications that tap into the resources of the entire Superchain. And it means chain deployers can tap into a rich set of Superchain network effects immediately upon launch. The result will be a unified, scalable ecosystem that unlocks new use cases and drives innovation.

Superchain Standards for Interoperability

To make interoperability work, we're introducing a set of technical standards and protocols that ensure secure, efficient cross-chain communication. Key components include:

• Message Passing Protocol: This enables secure cross-chain messages, allowing data and transactions to flow freely within the Superchain.

• ERC 7802: A standard token bridging interface that aims to proliferate and simplify crosschain token transfers as demonstrated by SuperchainERC20 tokens.

• Interop Fault Proof: A security layer that ties the security of chains together, without introducing fundamentally new assumptions or trusted parties.

These standards will lay the foundation for a more integrated Superchain, where each chain can scale independently but still contribute to the collective success of the network. Optimism will also continue to support Ethereum-wide interoperability standards like EIP 7683, to ensure that UX throughout the L2 Ecosystem improves in tandem with the Superchain.

Driving Adoption and Growth

To support the overall focus on delivering interoperability, the Collective’s growth mechanisms will focus on the following key areas:

• Increase overall Superchain users and economic activity.

• Support developer tooling and drive adoption of interop standards.

• Drive developer adoption and consumer usage of interoperable applications.

The Collective’s focus on interoperability allows us to align behind a set of shared measurements for success. Token allocation programs, Retro Funding, grants, airdrops, and growth campaigns can experiment with different tactics to drive the ecosystem outcomes we’re aligned behind. For more information on success metrics and the various programs across the Collective, see the Season 7 Intent Overview.

In Season 7, the Grants Council will determine the best way to make grants in support of the Superchain’s success. The Foundation will continue to allocate tokens from the Partner and Seed funds to support projects bootstrapping and growing the Superchain. As always, tokens that are circulating and that have been committed are shared publicly and updated on a monthly basis.

What We’re Enabling: User Journeys for 2025

As we focus on interoperability in 2025, the ultimate goal is to provide tangible value for developers, users, and platforms. By enabling smoother, more efficient cross-chain communication, we’re solving key pain points that will unlock a range of new possibilities for the Ethereum ecosystem. Here’s a glimpse into how this will play out for different types of builders and users:

1) Chain Operators Scaling with Interoperability

Problem: Chain Operators must build ecosystems of developers, assets, and activity from scratch, due to siloing in independent hubs.

What We’re Enabling: Chain Operators can confidently opt into Optimism and the Superchain’s decentralized governance model, enabling a clear process to reach Stage 1 decentralization. Shared security and standardization enables seamless interoperability, unlocking interconnectivity between economic hubs. Chain Operators can easily deploy an interop testnet through a reference Superchain tutorial. As developers deploy interoperable tokens through standards like SuperchainERC20, Chains will grow from their own unique customer experience, without fragmentation of builders or assets. This leads to a more secure and scalable platform that eventually eclipses the TVL and transaction volume of competing ecosystems.

2) OP Stack Developers Building Faster and More Efficiently

Problem: Developers contributing to the OP Stack risk spending more time building tooling and infrastructure than actually building protocol features themselves.

What We’re Enabling: A protocol developer can now benefit from fast feedback loops (CI & PR reviews) and an easier development environment, without needing to fork the monorepo or develop complex tooling just to build protocol features. By reducing the time spent on setting up development infrastructure, they can focus on the core protocol functionality itself. This streamlined process allows for faster iteration on protocol features and improvements, ultimately speeding up the development lifecycle and accelerating the Collective’s contributions to the OP Stack.

3) A Streamlined Experience for App Devs

Problem: New developers spend more time setting up test environments and tooling than building the apps themselves.

What We’re Enabling: A developer can quickly get started on the Superchain, with the same seamless development experience from local development on Supersim to mainnet. This consistency reduces friction and enables faster deployment, allowing them to build and deploy cross-chain applications with minimal setup. The ability to build interoperable applications on the Superchain accelerates asset bootstrapping and user adoption. This drives a more rewarding platform and a best in class developer experience with fast experimentation cycles.

4) Consumers Migrate their Assets and Activity

Problem: Users seeking faster finality and snappy user experience prefer platforms outside of the Superchain for their transactions.

What We’re Enabling: Users initially hesitant to move assets to the Superchain will experience the speed and efficiency of transactions across the network via confirmations as fast as sub-second. With seamless cross-chain transactions, they find the economic opportunity and user experience compelling enough to migrate assets from other ecosystems. The ease of moving assets across chains without compromising on capital efficiency makes the Superchain an attractive place.

The Road Ahead: Scaling the Superchain

In the coming years, we expect the Superchain to scale from a handful of interconnected chains to hundreds or even thousands. Interoperability will make every chain in the Superchain feel like part of a cohesive, unified ecosystem, with fast, cheap transactions and a seamless user experience.

We are laying the groundwork for a truly scalable, sustainable Ethereum ecosystem that can support the needs of developers and users worldwide.