-
Back to menu
Prices
-
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
Indices -
Back to menu
Research
-
Back to menu
Events -
Back to menu
Sponsored
-
Back to menu
Videos -
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
-
Back to menu
Webinars
Select Language
By Margaux Nijkerk, AI Boost|Edited by Nikhilesh De
Aug 21, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
- Optimism is teaming up with Flashbots to revamp how transactions get processed across its OP Stack ecosystem, aiming to make some of Ethereum’s most popular layer-2 networks faster and more customizable.
- The partnership centers on sequencing, the behind-the-scenes process that determines how quickly a transaction confirms, which trades are prioritized, and how much users ultimately pay.
Optimism is teaming up with Flashbots to revamp how transactions get processed across its OP Stack ecosystem, aiming to make some of Ethereum’s most popular layer-2 networks faster and more customizable.
The partnership centers on sequencing, the behind-the-scenes process that determines how quickly a transaction confirms, which trades are prioritized, and how much users ultimately pay. Optimism says Flashbots’ infrastructure, which is already responsible for building more than 90% of Ethereum’s blocks, will now bring near-instant confirmations and user-friendly transaction ordering to every chain in the so-called Superchain.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This matters because the OP Stack underpins more than 60% of all Ethereum layer 2 activity, the Optimism team claims, including some of the most well-known layer-2 chains like Base, Unichain, World Chain, Ink and Soneium. Until now, advanced sequencing features such as ultra-fast settlement, frontrunning protection and custom compliance rules were only available to the largest chains with resources to build them in-house. With Flashbots on board, those features will be available via tools for any project building on Optimism’s OP stack.
Flashbots is best known for its work on MEV, or maximal extractable value, where its MEV-Boost tool has reshaped how blocks are produced.
Some of Flashbots’ sequencing technology is already live on OP Stack chains: Base and Unichain use “Flashblocks” to deliver block times as low as 200 milliseconds, while Unichain and World Chain are experimenting with verifiable transaction ordering and priority blockspace, which proves transactions are ordered fairly and prevents frontrunning.
In the coming months, Optimism and Flashbots plan to roll out the flashblocks and advanced sequencing R&D to Optimism’s mainnet and other chains using the OP Stack.
“With Flashbots as a core technology partner, we’re accelerating the roadmap for fast, cheap, and customizable sequencing across the OP Stack,” said Sam McIngvale, head of product at OP Labs. “This is part of our broader mission: giving builders the freedom to design their chains their way, with infrastructure that’s open, flexible, and battle-tested in production.”
Read more: Optimism’s Jing Wang and the Widely Adopted OP Stack
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Margaux is CoinDesk’s Tech & Protocols reporter, where she focuses mostly on the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems. A graduate of Johns Hopkins and Emory universities, she has a masters in International Affairs & Economics. She holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.
More For You
By Jamie Crawley, Margaux Nijkerk
21 hours ago
Plus: Bitlayer Enters Solana with YBTC, Valantis Acquires stHYPE, and Hyperbeat Secures $5.2M In Seed Round
What to know:
This article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
