Swapping on and across Optimism

Optimism is a Layer 2 rollup built on Ethereum. It processes transactions off the mainnet and posts them back to Ethereum for security, which keeps fees low while inheriting Ethereum's settlement. It uses ETH for gas, so there's no separate gas token to acquire first.

For a user, an Optimism swap feels like an Ethereum swap at a fraction of the cost. Token standards and addresses are the same EVM format, so wallets and tools carry over directly.

Multiswap compares routes from the engines that serve Optimism rather than running its own liquidity. It queries same-chain and cross-chain engines in parallel for an Optimism swap and ranks the quotes by net output after estimated gas.

Since Optimism is one of several low-fee Ethereum L2s, comparing across engines also surfaces when a route through a different network would land more value, which is useful when you're deciding where to receive.

Optimism fees are low relative to mainnet because execution happens on the rollup, though costs still rise and fall with demand. Because gas is paid in ETH, you keep a little ETH on Optimism to cover transactions rather than buying a separate gas token.

Withdrawals from an L2 back to Ethereum mainnet can involve their own timing, but a swap that stays within Optimism or routes through a cross-chain engine settles on its own schedule. Treat timing as typical behavior that varies with conditions.

Receiving on Optimism is a good fit when your destination supports it and you want low fees close to the Ethereum ecosystem. If a service expects an asset on another network, route there instead.

Optimism addresses are standard EVM addresses, which makes it easy to confuse networks. Confirm the destination network before sending, since a confirmed transfer to the wrong network is hard to recover.