Optimism sets mainnet date for major Superchain upgrade pending governance approval

Optimism has outlined its timeline for Superchain Upgrade 16a, a safety-focused upgrade designed to give chains more flexibility and developers better tools.

Optimism has unveiled plans for its next major network upgrade which aims to boost safety and flexibility across its ecosystem. The upgrade is described as a maintenance release that improves developer tools and prepares the groundwork for future features.

In an announcement shared via X on Sept. 19, the team said the upgrade would go live on the Superchain Sepolia testnet on Sept. 22 and reach the Superchain Mainnet on Oct. 2, pending governance approval by the Optimism Collective.

Optimism’s focus on safety and flexibility

Upgrade 16a replaces the earlier Upgrade 16, which had included withdrawal-proving logic that was never activated on mainnet. Optimism (OP) has now taken that code out of production paths in response to partner feedback, leaving it in the repository for use when interoperability features are prepared for deployment.

System-level feature toggles are a significant addition that enable new features to be turned on or off per chain without influencing other network nodes. ETHLockbox will be the first feature governed by this mechanism, with potential future applications including custom gas tokens.

Upgrade 16a also includes feature flags for developers to safely test interoperability in non-production environments, making sure that live chains are not affected by experimental code.

Smoother upgrade path for chains

To streamline adoption, Optimism has updated its OP Contracts Manager. Chains currently on Upgrade 15 can now move directly to 16a, while those already on Upgrade 16 can migrate seamlessly without disruption. Crucially, the modifications don’t impact end-user behavior or withdrawal proofs, highlighting Optimism’s methodical, modular approach to growth.

The upgrade comes as Optimism continues its push to position its Superchain framework as a crucial hub for Ethereum’s (ETH) growth. Its reach has been increased through partnerships with projects like Base, Ronin, and Unichain, while recent collaborations with Succinct Labs and Flashbots indicate a growing focus on fault-proofing, sequencing flexibility, and zero-knowledge technology.

At the time of writing, OP was trading at $0.835, up 1.2% on the day and 6% over the past week, with a market capitalization of about $1.49 billion.