Vitalik endorses Optimism proposal: "Non-token" governance model, OP as L2 transaction fee token?

Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism airdropped token OP, but the market price is not ideal, and there are even proposals for witch-hunting dumpers. The OP token is currently used for protocol governance, but there are also discussions on the forum about a new proposal to change the function of OP token from governance to being used for network Gas Fees.

The second-layer solution Optimism airdropped the token OP, but the market price is not ideal, and proposals for dumping and witch-hunting have even emerged. The OP token is currently used for protocol governance purposes, but a new proposal on the forum suggests changing the use of OP tokens from governance to being used as the network's Gas Fee token.

Vitalik responded to the community feedback stating that this is why he likes Optimism's adoption of a "non-token" governance model, the Citizen House relationship. Optimism's goal is not just to make the OP token rise in value; the only way to achieve this in the long term is to clearly represent the interests of non-token holders.

What Vitalik refers to is Optimism's two-chamber governance model, consisting of the Token House with OP tokens and another non-token Citizens’ House recognized through non-transferable NFTs, borrowing Vitalik's concept of soul bonding. The Token House deals with project rewards, protocol upgrades, and treasury governance issues, while the Citizens’ House handles "retroactive public goods funding"; both chambers jointly govern network parameters and participant qualifications.

Although Vitalik did not express an opinion on whether OP tokens should be used as network fees, Paradigm researcher Hasu doubts whether the proposal to convert OP tokens into network fees would benefit its price. He believes that using OP tokens for governance purposes, along with the sequencer for profit, is also discussed in more detail in this post; using secondary tokens to pay fees may instead reduce demand.