Technology

Metastate Network’s technology stack is built entirely on the standard OP Stack, ensuring full compatibility with Optimism and Ethereum.

As a Layer-3 optimistic rollup chain, Metastate is deployed on top of Optimism (Layer-2), which in turn settles on Ethereum (Layer-1). This hierarchical design inherits Ethereum’s security guarantees while adding additional scalability and customizability at Layer-3.

No custom consensus or execution modifications have been introduced - Metastate uses the OP Stack’s modular components as-is, aligning with Optimism’s specifications for maximal interoperability and ease of maintenance. In other words, if you’re familiar with Ethereum and Optimism, you already know how to build on Metastate.

Architecture of Metastate Network as a Layer-3 rollup building on Optimism (L2) and settling on Ethereum (L1). This stack inherits Ethereum’s security while enabling Metastate’s community-focused execution layer on top.

• Modular Architecture: The OP Stack’s modular design cleanly separates the execution, consensus, and data availability layers, which allows Metastate to integrate improvements over time without disrupting the network. At launch, Metastate will leverage Optimism Mainnet as its immediate settlement and data availability provider, inheriting the robust security and decentralization of Ethereum’s L1 via Optimism’s proofs. This architecture supports future flexibility: for instance, Metastate could opt into Optimism’s Superchain framework, sharing sequencers or interoperability protocols with other OP Chains as those features mature. By sticking to the standard OP Stack configuration, Metastate ensures it can seamlessly adopt upstream improvements (such as optimized fault proofs or custom gas token support) with minimal friction.

• EVM Compatibility: Metastate is fully Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible, meaning developers can deploy existing Solidity/Vyper smart contracts and use familiar Ethereum tooling. The network’s state transition function mirrors Ethereum’s, so any dApp that runs on Ethereum or Optimism can be ported to Metastate with little or no modification. This lowers the barrier to entry for projects and communities - they can reuse battle-tested contracts (for governance, tokens, NFTs, etc.) and integrate with standard wallets, oracles, indexers, and other infrastructure. Account abstraction is supported via the OP Stack, enabling more user-friendly onboarding (for example, meta-transactions or social recovery wallets) that will allow non-crypto-savvy community members to participate without managing complex key management or gas payments.

• Ultra-Low Fees & High Throughput: Operating as an L3 rollup on an L2, Metastate achieves dramatically lower fees and higher throughput than L1 or even typical L2 networks. Optimistic aggregation of transactions at the L3 level means many user actions (like upvoting a proposal, minting a badge NFT, or sending micro-donations) can be batched and submitted to L2 as a single transaction, amortizing L1 costs. The result is ultra-low gas fees - on the order of fractions of a cent (estimated around $0.01-$0.02 per transaction) - making thousands of microtransactions economically viable without sacrificing decentralization. Blocks on Metastate can be produced faster and with higher capacity than on congested L1 chains, yielding a smooth user experience. Community apps like games or voting systems will benefit from near-instant confirmations and smoother UX (no lengthy delays or prohibitive costs), which is critical for mainstream adoption. Importantly, because Metastate ultimately settles to Ethereum via Optimism, users enjoy Ethereum-grade security for finality - the best of both worlds in performance and trust.

• Interoperability: By integrating into the Optimism ecosystem, Metastate will natively support cross-chain messaging and asset movement with its L2 parent chain and beyond. Users will be able to bridge assets from Ethereum or Optimism onto Metastate (and vice versa) using standard Optimism bridges. This means a community launching on Metastate can easily bring in ETH, ERC-20 tokens, or NFTs from Ethereum to bootstrap their economy. Likewise, tokens or NFTs minted on Metastate can flow out to the broader Ethereum ecosystem. In the future, as the Optimism Superchain matures, Metastate expects to benefit from atomic cross-chain transactions and unified liquidity with other OP Stack chains. This composability ensures that communities on Metastate are not siloed - they remain connected to the wider world of Ethereum, allowing value and information to move freely across layers.

In summary, Metastate’s technology philosophy is “maximize compatibility, minimize costs.” By leveraging the OP Stack unchanged, we stand on the shoulders of Ethereum and Optimism, inheriting their security model and developer ecosystem. At the same time, by operating as a specialized Layer-3, we can fine-tune the network for community applications that demand low fees, flexible modules, and a user-friendly experience. The result is a blockchain network that is technically robust and scalable, yet deeply aligned with the practical needs of the communities it serves.