# Fireside Chat with Optimism Co Founders Jing Wang and Mark Tyneway at ETHConf

- Speakers: [Mark Tyneway](https://streameth.org/speakers/mark-tyneway)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2026-07-09
- Duration: 14:12
- Topics: Optimism, Mark Tyneway, Jing Wang, ETHCom, L2, OP Stack, superchain, Ethereum, EF, CROPS, censorship resistance, capture resistance, open source, privacy, security, DA, sequencer policies, top of block access, stake for priority, trading halts, compliance, withdrawal window, ZK, Zcash, anonymity set, quantum resistance, institutional adoption, enterprise, sanctioned validators, fintech, RWA, equity tokens, private contracts, settlement layer, trustless, mainnet, decentralized development
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-Lo7rq5goGPI
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo7rq5goGPI

## Description

In this fireside chat, Optimism co-founders Mark Tyneway and Jing Wang take the stage to address rumors of Optimism's demise, defend the L2 thesis, and preview what's shipping next. They open by joking about Jing's intense treasury management discipline (Mark slept in a tent on the roof of the office for two years) confirming Optimism has years of runway. On the broader L2 sentiment, they reject the narrative that L2s are interested in forking away to become L1s, with Jing explaining that despite frustration with shipping speed inside the EF, Optimism continues to choose Ethereum L1 as its DA because of the properties it offers. They both express strong support for the controversial CROPS roadmap (censorship resistance, capture resistance, open source, privacy, security), arguing the backlash was more about communication than content.

Mark and Jing share lessons from Optimism's own struggles with decentralized development during the token pump era, which made every idea feel like a good one. They remerged all companies back into one entity and have shipped more in the last six months than the previous two and a half years combined. They argue Ethereum needs quantifiable success metrics to unify the community, and float the idea of building the largest anonymity set in crypto larger than Zcash. The conversation pivots to enterprise demand for L2s, with Jing explaining their sequencer policy work as the strongest form of compliance: institutions can stake tokens for top of block access, halt trading of equity tokens at the sequencer level across all DeFi protocols simultaneously, and avoid concerns about sanctioned validators processing their transactions. They preview the long awaited reduction of withdrawal windows from 7 days to 1 day, work with privacy partners on private contracts and transfers, and confirm Optimism is hiring with new feature announcements every two weeks.

00:00 Introduction
00:11 Addressing Rumors That Optimism Is Dead
00:40 Treasury Discipline and the Tent on the Roof
01:10 L2s Forking Away to Become L1s
01:37 Why Optimism Stays on Ethereum L1
02:10 Supporting the Controversial CROPS Roadmap
02:38 What CROPS Actually Stands For
03:11 Communication Was the Problem, Not the Content
03:42 Optimism's Own Struggles with Decentralized Development
04:08 Remerging Into One Company
04:27 Gelatinous Cheeks and Growing Up in Crypto
05:01 Why Zcash Gets Love for the Same Roadmap
05:30 Ethereum Needs Quantifiable Success Metrics
06:05 ETH as Money vs Bitcoin
06:35 Building the Largest Anonymity Set in Crypto
07:00 Institutions Still Prefer Ethereum for Trustlessness
07:23 L2 Pedantry vs Real UX Impact
07:55 Sequencer Policies as the Strongest Form of Compliance
08:39 Trading Halts Across All DeFi Protocols at Once
09:39 Why L1 Will Never Match L2 Customization
10:58 Why a Single Sequencer Is a Superpower
11:31 Avoiding Sanctioned Validators on Your Network
12:03 Smart Contract Logic as Sequencer Policy
12:29 Reducing the Withdrawal Window From 7 Days to 1
12:55 From Hoodies to Suits
13:17 Closing: Optimism Is Not Dead

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