Fantom Considers Shift to Optimistic Rollups Development

Andre Cronje, the founder of Fantom Foundation, has indicated that the platform is contemplating a shift towards developing Optimistic Rollups and further integrating with Ethereum.

Fantom Considers Shift to Optimistic Rollup

In a recent interview with The Block, DeFi guru Andre Cronje shared:

"We are looking into the OP Stack, Arbitrum Stack, and the Canonical bridge models these toolsets support to assess their security implications. Could we use their toolsets to develop our own Canonical bridge? It's a possibility and we are actively exploring it."

Cronje confirmed that if Fantom adopts Optimistic Rollups technology, the network would incur transaction fees to record its network history onto Ethereum's mainnet.

Read more: Fantom Andre Cronje

Another member of the Fantom Foundation, CEO Michael Kong, stated that Layer-2 technology would help Fantom tap into abundant liquidity sources from Ethereum.

However, Cronje does not view the concept of Layer-2 as truly independent. The DeFi guru sees Layer-2 solutions akin to sidechains, with Optimistic Rollup technology serving as a bridge to connect these entities. He acknowledges some differences but refutes calling them "Layer-2" even when applying the aforementioned technologies.

"When using the Canonical bridge technology, does it make us a Layer-2? Certainly not, as Layer-2 is strictly a sidechain."

Addressing the security aspect of this new technology, the Fantom Foundation founder believes it provides a more convenient way to move between blockchains. However, the security it offers remains a question mark, especially with numerous other bridges concurrently connected to the network.

"Assets bridged via the Canonical mechanism will be safer, which is great and why we're interested in this solution. But if something goes wrong and people try to withdraw their assets from the network, they won't be able to do so straightforwardly because these assets were previously transferred into the network by another mechanism."

Earlier in July 2023, another Layer-1 solution also shifted towards developing Layer-2 for Ethereum, namely Celo. This trend of transition is becoming increasingly popular and signals positive developments for Layer-1 solutions themselves.