Optimism has launched a four-week temporary test on the OP Mainnet, where eligible OP token stakers will receive higher transaction ranking priority. This means that the use of OP is expanding from governance to on-chain block space allocation.

The test was conducted in two phases.

This test, which began on May 26, marks the first deployment of a staking-based transaction ranking system on the OP Stack chain. According to the plan, users must stake OP through Optimism's PolicyEngineStaking contract to qualify for a ranking advantage.

The first phase will last a maximum of one week. Wallets that have staked at least 100,000 OP will receive strict first-come, first-served processing. Once this threshold is exceeded, further increasing the staking amount will not provide any additional advantage.

The second phase, lasting up to three weeks, will switch to a weighted ranking based on staking size. The larger the staking amount, the higher the effective priority fee multiplier for the user, but with a cap of 3 times. Optimism states that the model uses a square root formula to diminishing returns for large holders, rather than amplifying them infinitely.

No longer relying solely on gas bidding

This test replaces the common "priority gas auction" model. Previously, users primarily paid higher transaction fees to secure a higher ranking position; the new mechanism allows token staking to also participate in the ranking allocation.

This will directly impact on-chain participants who rely on execution speed, including market makers, arbitrageurs, MEV searchers, and other high-frequency traders. For these participants, changes in the sorting method can affect trading efficiency, execution costs, and strategy design.

Normal sorting will resume after four weeks.

From a protocol perspective, this also adds new economic uses to the OP token, no longer limited to governance voting. Optimism is using this to test whether Layer 2 block space can be allocated through "staking + fees" instead of a single fee auction.

This mechanism may also spark discussions about fairness and centralization. Since large holders of tokens can gain a higher ranking advantage, some market participants may view it as a "pay-first" model tied to token holdings.

Optimism acknowledges the associated risks in its documentation and emphasizes that these ordering guarantees are "best-efforts" and not absolute guarantees. The agreement also states that after a four-week testing period, OP Mainnet will automatically revert to the regular transaction ordering method.