The OP Superchain Roundup #11
Kinto Raises $5M to Develop First KYC'd Ethereum Layer-2 Blockchain for Real-World Assets in DeFi, Lattice Introduces Redstone for Improved Data Availability on Optimism and Vitalik's Latest Paper on
🌟 Welcome to the 11th edition of The OP Superchain Roundup! 🌟Â
Join us as we uncover the exciting world of the Optimism Ecosystem. In this newsletter, we'll bring you all the latest updates and developments on the OP Ecosystem. Let's get started!
Major happenings in the Ecosystem
Kinto
Kinto Raises $5M to Develop First KYC'd Ethereum Layer-2 Blockchain for Real-World Assets in DeFi
Kinto has raised $5 million in funding to develop a layer-2 network compliant with anti-money laundering laws.
The project aims to connect financial institutions and real-world assets with decentralized finance (DeFi) through its layer-2 network.
Kinto utilizes the OP Stack, a set of software tools derived from Optimism, to build its customized layer-2 network.
The network features native know-your-customer (KYC) checks and an investor accreditation mechanism to onboard regulated financial institutions.
Kinto becomes the first KYC'd layer-2 blockchain capable of supporting both traditional financial institutions and decentralized protocols.
Only KYC'd entities can transact on the network, eliminating anonymous exploits and scams in DeFi.
Kinto will open the onboarding and KYC process on November 21st.
Redstone
Lattice Introduces Redstone for Improved Data Availability on Optimism
Lattice has unveiled a network called Redstone, which aims to provide alternative data availability for the Optimism blockchain ecosystem.
Redstone is currently operating as a test network and is designed to be cost-effective for on-chain games and decentralized applications.
Optimism is a collection of layer-2 chains that facilitate cheaper and faster transactions, and Redstone is an "alt-DA" chain within this ecosystem.
Redstone operates as a plasma rollup blockchain, where the transaction data is available off-chain instead of on Ethereum's layer-1 blockchain.
The Lattice team plans to join the Optimism ecosystem as core developers and contribute to the OP Stack.
Data availability has been a significant topic in the Ethereum ecosystem, and Redstone aims to address this challenge by storing and providing consensus on blockchain data availability for transactions.
Optimism Foundation
Former Polygon Labs President Ryan Wyatt Joins Optimism as Chief Growth Officer for Blockchain Development
Ryan Wyatt, former President of Polygon Labs, has been hired as the Chief Growth Officer of Optimism Foundation Unit.
Optimism Foundation Unit is an operating subsidiary of the Optimism Foundation, which supports companies and developers committed to Optimism's technology.
Wyatt will be responsible for supporting blockchain development and helping developers build across the Optimism ecosystem.
Wyatt brings experience from his previous roles in gaming and at YouTube, where he explored non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital ownership.
Highlights of the Week
Vitalik's Latest Paper on Plasma
Vitalik released a new publication that talks about reviving Plasma as a blockchain scaling solution.
Plasma networks are considered "child" chains of the Ethereum mainnet, executing transactions away from Ethereum and periodically posting final states back to the mainnet.
Plasma chains differ from other scaling solutions like Arbitrum or Optimism by posting computed data back to Ethereum mainnet, reducing data stored on-chain.
Plasma was not chosen by current roll-up solutions due to high costs of client-side data storage and limitations in its application.
Vitalik suggests that the introduction of zk-SNARKS (zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge) and validity proofs can resolve concerns with Plasma.
zk-SNARKS enable blockchains to prove information accuracy without revealing the contents, while validity proofs attest to the accuracy of information.
Validity proofs can address data storage challenges and allow for instant withdrawals in a validity-proven Plasma chain.
However, there are still limitations, especially when a state object lacks a clear economic owner, raising concerns about bad actors.
Vitalik believes Plasma remains an underrated design that could help reduce Ethereum transaction fees and benefit chains that would otherwise be validiums.
That’s it for today, folks. See ya next Friday. 🧢