Optimism (OP) disabled permissionless fraud proofs, and the protocol engineer proposed a precautionary hard fork as a preventative measure.
The proposal describes an upgrade to the Granite network, addressing security vulnerabilities identified by third-party auditors. If passed, the upgrade would provide better security and performance for the OP Mainnet fault-tolerant system.
Optimism Network Solves Vulnerability Issues
The shutdown of unresolved fraud evidence and the reversal of the resolution came after audits found several bugs in the recently launched system. According to the report, the audit found two high-priority issues, forcing the network to take additional precautions. Importantly, the Optimism team assured users that their assets remain safe.
“If an exploit were discovered, the deputy custodian, a role held by the Optimism Foundation and subject to recall by the Security Council, would have to blacklist any dispute games that could be used or activate an authorized fallback,” explained Mofi Taiwo, a protocol engineer representing OP Labs, an Optimism participant.
The Optimism network committed to improving its core security mechanisms in its May upgrade proposal. It also promised to gradually build trust in the system’s reliability over time. This commitment led to the decision to enable permissioned rollback and limit exit proposals, providing tighter controls over potential vulnerabilities.
Read more: Crypto Project Security: A Guide to Early Threat Detection
The latest audit classified the vulnerabilities as threatening the reputation and viability of the OP Mainnet. According to the project’s guidelines, they did not require formal audits, so they escaped the scope of the Optimism audit. However, they were flagged because they relate to the network’s fraud-proof system contracts.
Following the discovery, the network proposes a hard fork called the Granite Network Upgrade. This hard fork will include smart contract updates to fix vulnerabilities identified during the audit and a Layer-2 (L2) upgrade that will improve the stability and performance of the fault-tolerant system.
Consequences of granite renovation
OP Labs does not expect any downtime due to the Granite network upgrade. However, if the hard fork proposal is accepted, node operators must update their software by September 11, the date required by law.
Now that unauthorized fraud proofs are disabled, all pending withdrawals will be cancelled. Any withdrawals initiated less than a week before the update will only be completed a week later. Offers made within a week of reactivating the game without authorization will also be cancelled. Therefore, users must reconfirm their withdrawal requests.
The development reflects key security concerns that continue to plague the DeFi space. Optimism’s native token, OP, fell 0.3%, in line with the overall market gloom. However, the total value locked (TVL) of the Layer-2 network has risen by $5.88 million since news of the planned upgrade broke.
Read more: Optimism vs. Arbitrage: Ethereum Layer-2 Comparison
The rise in TVL indicates an increase in capital inflows into the DeFi protocol, which suggests that investors have regained confidence and interest in the platform. Users may react positively to the news by depositing additional funds into the L2 network due to the enhanced security measures and improvements that the upgrade promises.
