Optimistic Governance

Optimism unfolds pathways toward decentralization

Nov 01, 2024

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a proposal to accelerate decentralization in Optimism. A quick refresher: The argument put forward by GFX Labs was that the community does not yet have full control over governance and that that should change — and quickly, following the specific steps outlined in the proposal. The Optimism Foundation’s response was measured, emphasizing a gradual, experimental approach, as has long been their way, to maintain security, stability, and alignment with developments in the broader ecosystem. More recently, the Foundation has released additional information concerning its vision for governance on all fronts. They’ve provided an elaborate explanatory framework for continuing progress toward full decentralization, delineating their long-term plan for onchain governance architecture and clarifying the Superchain product vision (which implicates governance). Let’s take these one at a time.

Mind the Gap

In a forum post on October 15, the Foundation describes its “working models for decentralization,” acknowledging what they call a “context gap” with the community regarding the journey. To bridge this gap, the Foundation presents two flexible models: the Decentralization Milestone Working Model, a spreadsheet (complemented by an explanatory video) that outlines major milestones and dependencies toward full decentralization, and the Governance Decision Diagram Working Model (supplemented by a decision design framework), which maps the governance decision-making process. These models encourage collaboration and adaptation as the Collective progresses toward a self-managing system embodying the Optimistic vision. Both models are sophisticated and thorough, and reward sustained attention.

Permission to Propose

Just two days earlier, the Foundation had posted on the forum to detail its long-term plans for onchain governance architecture, noting in passing the proposal from Agora (see below) to move the Governance Fund onchain. The post critiques the industry standard of minimal barriers and token-based proposal thresholds — which can lead to spam, reduced participation, and plutocratic tendencies. Instead, they advocate for “a more granular approach” that includes maintaining delegate approvals and voting cycles without relying solely on token balances. Again, the model presented is worth a long look:

More immediate efforts focus on replicating the Operating Manual’s functionality onchain for Governance Fund proposals and addressing open questions about voting cycles, safeguards, and proposal edits. Future work will include expanding the governance toolkit by integrating onchain Citizens’ House voting, developing onchain citizenship selection, enabling emergency off-cycle votes, and improving delegation programs. Comments on the post have been supportive and constructive.

Meanwhile, marking a significant milestone toward decentralization, Agora has proposed (and passed) an upgrade to the Optimism governance smart contract, enabling direct onchain execution of OP token transfer proposals without relying on the Optimism Foundation. (The Foundation will still execute non-treasury proposals.)

Superchain Governance

Also, meanwhile, the Foundation has posted its Superchain product vision, which describes the plan to scale Ethereum by building a network of sovereign chains unified under Optimism Governance. Over the next two years, they aim to standardize chains for decentralization and composability, protect security through shared governance, and deliver seamless user experiences. The Superchain hopes to expand to over 1,000 chains (“but feel like one”), enabling sub-second, low-cost transactions while promoting sustainable growth and development. The post does not address financial sustainability (GFX Labs wonders how OP tokenholders benefit from funding external chains as sequencer fees decline), and neither does it specify “what sovereignty means in practice” for each chain, as a comment from SEEDGov puts it. Undoubtedly, both of these unknowns will soon need to be addressed: the Foundation recently announced the first OP chains — Cyber and Mint — to onboard as delegates in Optimism governance and pointed to some of their newfound powers.

Evolution

GFX Labs, for one, still isn’t impressed with the speed at which optimism is approaching decentralization.

More broadly, many remain skeptical about the prospects of true decentralization and shared governance in blockchain-based communities (or any other kind of community, frankly). And with good reason: our track record isn’t encouraging, whether online or irl. We are built (some might say coded) to seek more power for ourselves, whether for good or bad ends. It’s no wonder we struggle to encode immutably the decentralization of power.

There are some communities out there, however, that give one hope — and the Optimism Collective is among them. From the beginning, the Foundation and Labs teams have been innovative, rigorous, and open in their considerable efforts to achieve the Optimistic vision, including decentralization. Various Collective members have been equally dedicated to providing ideas — including serious critiques — for improvement. Time and again, we’ve seen that the Foundation is more than simply responsive: it is continually forward-looking.

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