OP Token Deep Dive: What Is Optimism (OP) and Its Investment Value
7/1/2025, 2:47:55 PM
The OP Token is the native governance token of the Optimism network. This article delves into what Optimism (OP) is, its roles in governance, fee payments, and ecological incentives, combining the latest prices, technological upgrades, and cooperation dynamics to provide a detailed investment guide and risk assessment for beginners.
What is Optimism (OP)
Optimism is a technology of “Optimistic Rollups” that efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively scales by processing transactions in batches off-chain and only submitting the state to the Ethereum main chain in case of disputes. The OP Token is the governance and economic incentive vehicle of the network, held by the community to collectively manage the future of the network.
The core function of OP Token
- Governance: OP holders can vote on proposals including fund allocation, protocol parameters, and upgrade paths, introducing a delegation voting mechanism where token holders can choose to delegate their voting power to trusted representatives.
- Fee Payment: When executing transactions on Optimism, you can use OP to pay fees and enjoy lower Gas prices compared to ETH.
- Ecological Incentives: Including forms such as airdrop rewards, liquidity mining, and developer grants, providing comprehensive incentives for ecological builders.
- Decentralized Governance: Multi-stage release and widespread distribution ensure the interests of multiple parties, balancing efficiency and security.
Payment and Fee Optimization Strategies
- Reduced bridging costs: Using the official bridging tool allows for more favorable cross-chain transaction fees.
- Coupons and rebates: Participate in the event to receive OP rebates or fee discount coupons.
- Exchange Discount: Using OP for payments on certain platforms can earn you additional discounts of up to 25%.
Ecosystem Incentives and Project Funding
- Optimism Grants DAO: A community-managed fund of tens of millions of dollars that supports innovative projects in DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and more.
- Developer Subsidy: Monthly allowances and special bonuses provided for technical contributors to promote the prosperity of the open-source ecosystem.
- Liquidity rewards: Providing liquidity on platforms like Uniswap V3 and Velodrome can earn OP rewards.
Decentralized governance mechanism
- Multi-stage proposal process: from forum discussions, signature collection to on-chain voting, the entire process is open and transparent.
- Community supervision: Monitor the progress of proposal execution in real time through the governance dashboard (gov.optimism.io).
Current market data and trends

Figure:https://www.gate.com/trade/OP_USDT
Real-time price: $0.57 USD
Significant cooperation and technology upgrade
- Bedrock 2.0 (2025/03/15): Comprehensive optimization of the Rollup architecture to enhance performance and security.
- Coinbase Interoperability (2025/05/01): Coinbase integrates the Optimism network to provide users with a low-fee trading experience.
- Future Plan: In Q4 2025, we plan to launch the zkRollup prototype to further enhance scalability and privacy protection.
How to seize participation opportunities
- Regular investment in OP: Choose a regular investment plan to average out costs and avoid short-term volatility risks.
- Participate in airdrop: Complete bridging, trading, and governance actions to earn eligibility for subsequent airdrops.
- Follow community activities: Join Discord and Twitter to get real-time updates on project dynamics and incentive activities.
Investment Advice and Risk Prevention
Suggestion:
- Understand your own risk tolerance and do not blindly follow the trend.
- Long-term holding and paying attention to project ecosystem development;
- Diversify investments to avoid concentration in a single asset.
Risk:
- Technical upgrade failure or security vulnerabilities;
- Similar Layer 2 competition;
- The macro market sentiment fluctuates.
* The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by Gate.