Optimism tests stake ordering

On Optimism today, most users buy faster execution by bidding higher gas fees; the new test lets OP stakers buy priority with stake instead. (optimism.io) Optimism said on April 16, 2026 that the experiment is live on OP Sepolia and could roll out to OP Mainnet in phases if governance approves. The company called it the first change to OP Mainnet’s transaction-ordering rules in the chain’s history. (optimism.io) The design uses a dedicated staking contract and lets a participant link staked OP from one address to a separate address that actually sends transactions. Eligible transactions get “top-of-block” treatment, while non-staking transactions still use the existing priority gas auction. (optimism.io) (gov.optimism.io) In the first phase, any address that stakes 100,000 OP qualifies for the priority tier, and transactions inside that tier are ordered first-in, first-out. Optimism said that phase would run for no more than one week. (optimism.io) In the second phase, ordering would depend on a formula that blends gas bid, stake size, and how long the tokens have been staked. Optimism said the multiplier is capped at 3x, follows a square-root curve, and adds as much as 10% after 15 days to make short-term borrowing less useful. (optimism.io) The company is testing the change against a problem common on fast crypto networks: bots often fire many overlapping transactions to win a spot near the top of a block. Optimism said failed transactions and spam from those gas wars can clog blocks and raise costs for traders that care most about execution quality. (optimism.io) The proposal frames the trial as a way to study market makers, arbitrage bots, and other heavy blockspace users under new rules, not as a permanent rewrite of the chain. If the experiment runs on mainnet, OP Mainnet would revert to the standard ordering system at the end. (gov.optimism.io) (docs.optimism.io) Optimism’s own disclosure warns that the test could change incentives in unpredictable ways, including front-running, back-running, sandwiching, congestion, denial-of-service behavior, and concentration of benefits among large holders. The Foundation also said it may end the experiment immediately and revert without notice if needed. (docs.optimism.io) The governance proposal asks the Optimism Collective to approve a time-boxed experiment and let the Foundation operate it across phases without a second vote, as long as it stays within the proposal’s scope. Under Optimism’s upgrade process, protocol changes are reviewed and can be vetoed during a seven-day stakeholder period. (gov.optimism.io) (docs.optimism.io) For now, the live test is on Sepolia, where developers try changes before mainnet, and Optimism said it plans to publish the results openly. That keeps the opening question in view: whether staking can replace some gas bidding without breaking the market around blockspace. (optimism.io) (docs.optimism.io)