When Coinbase launched Base in 2023, the chain didn’t appear out of nowhere — it was forked from the OP Stack, the open-source codebase Optimism gave away for free. World Chain, Sam Altman’s identity-tied L2, did the same. So did half a dozen other rollups you’ve probably never heard of. The thesis behind buying OP isn’t really about Optimism’s own activity. It’s about the idea that one shared rollup framework underpins a meaningful chunk of Ethereum scaling — and OP token holders sit closer to that thesis than the average crypto buyer realises.
I’ve held OP since shortly after the original airdrop in May 2022. I missed the actual airdrop because I wasn’t using the chain enough back then, which still annoys me. This is the walkthrough I’d give a friend buying their first OP on BitGet today. Two of the links below are affiliate. I’ll flag them.
Short answer: To buy Optimism on BitGet, create an account with email, enable 2FA, complete KYC (usually same-day), deposit funds via card, P2P, bank transfer, or crypto, then place a spot order on the OP/USDT pair. Spot fees are 0.10%. Card on-ramp adds 1–3%. For long-term storage, move OP to a Ledger Nano X — MetaMask with the Optimism network added works as a hot wallet for DeFi. Time from signup to OP in your account: about 30 minutes.
Open a BitGet account → (affiliate)
Key takeaways
- Optimism is an Optimistic Rollup — it batches Ethereum transactions and posts compressed proofs back to L1, cutting fees by roughly 90–99% versus mainnet.
- The OP Stack is the codebase that powers Base, World Chain, and a growing Superchain of L2s — that interdependence is the real OP thesis.
- The May 2022 OP airdrop dropped roughly 214 million tokens on early users and DAO voters, and the chain has run multiple airdrop seasons since.
- BitGet spot fees are 0.10% maker/taker. Card buys cost 1–3% on top. P2P or crypto deposit is the cheaper route.
- Long-term OP belongs on a Ledger. Trading float on BitGet. MetaMask with the Optimism network added for DApp use.
What Optimism actually is (and why the Superchain matters)
Optimism is one of the two original Optimistic Rollups on Ethereum, the other being Arbitrum. The mechanic is straightforward enough. You transact on the Optimism chain at a fraction of Ethereum gas cost. Optimism batches thousands of those transactions, compresses them, and posts the data to Ethereum mainnet. Ethereum acts as the security and final settlement layer. The “optimistic” bit means transactions are assumed valid by default, with a seven-day challenge window where anyone can submit a fraud proof if they spot something dodgy.
The fee story is real. On Ethereum mainnet a simple swap can cost $2 to $15 in gas depending on congestion. On Optimism the same swap is typically a few cents. Average transaction fees on the network usually sit somewhere between $0.001 and $0.05 depending on how busy mainnet is, since L2 fees are partly tied to the cost of posting calldata to L1. After the Dencun upgrade introduced blobs in early 2024, those costs dropped sharply across all major rollups, Optimism included.
What sets Optimism apart from the other rollups is the Superchain thesis. The OP Stack — the open-source codebase that runs the Optimism chain — was released so other teams could build their own rollups using the same framework. Coinbase’s Base chain is built on the OP Stack. World Chain, the Sam Altman identity rollup, is built on the OP Stack. So is opBNB. The plan is that all of these chains share a common security model, a shared sequencer eventually, and interoperate without the friction of cross-chain bridges. They form the “Superchain.”
OP holders, through the Optimism Collective governance, sit upstream of all of that. When Base earns sequencer revenue, a slice flows back to the Optimism Collective treasury under the existing revenue-sharing agreement Coinbase signed. As more chains join the Superchain, that revenue model scales. Whether the market prices that correctly is the open question — but the structural position is real.
For the wider context — what crypto is, what an exchange does, how to think about which token to start with — the how to buy crypto parent guide covers it. For background on the underlying chain Optimism settles to, what is Ethereum is the explainer.
Why I recommend BitGet for buying OP
A handful of exchanges list OP. Here’s why BitGet is the one I’d point a beginner at for this token specifically.
Deep OP/USDT liquidity. OP is one of the more actively traded L2 tokens on BitGet — order book is tight, fills are fast, no thin-liquidity surprises during volatile sessions.
Honest fee structure. Spot maker/taker fees start at 0.10% and drop with BGB holdings or VIP tier. The price you see on the chart is the price you trade at. Full breakdown in the BitGet trading fees post.
Multiple deposit routes. Card, bank transfer, P2P, or crypto deposit. Pick the one that fits your timeline and budget.
Withdrawal works on the Optimism network. I move OP off BitGet to my Ledger using the Optimism network directly. Confirmations are usually under a minute and fees are pennies. Full platform breakdown in the BitGet review.
Not for US residents. BitGet is geo-blocked in the US. If that’s where you live, look at Coinbase Advanced or Kraken instead. Everywhere else, this is the workflow I’d run.
If you want a head-to-head, the BitGet vs Binance and BitGet vs Bybit comparisons sit alongside this one.
Pre-signup checklist (ID, bank, 2FA, storage)
Five minutes of prep before you open the sign-up page.
A photo ID. Passport or driving licence in date. KYC will ask for both the document and a selfie. Blurry photos get rejected.
An email you control. You’ll be getting 2FA codes, withdrawal approvals, and security alerts at this address for years. Use a real one you check.
A strong password. 16+ characters, never reused on another site. A password manager makes this painless.
An authenticator app. Google Authenticator or Authy. Install it before you sign up. SMS 2FA is a security hole — SIM swap attacks have drained more accounts than most beginners would believe. 2FA for crypto goes deeper on which factor types are actually safe.
Your funding source. Debit card, bank account, or crypto already sitting in another wallet. UK readers using Faster Payments and EU readers using SEPA Instant find P2P near-instant.
A storage plan. Decide before you buy where the OP is going. Trading float on BitGet, long-term holdings on a hardware wallet. If you don’t own one yet, the Ledger Nano X supports OP via the Ethereum app and the Optimism network — pick one up while KYC clears.
Step-by-step: BitGet signup
Five steps. About ten minutes if your documents are ready.
- Open the sign-up page. Go to BitGet (affiliate — gives you a small fee discount). Enter your email and a strong password.
- Verify your email. A six-digit code arrives within a minute. Paste it in.
- Enable 2FA. Security Settings → Authenticator. Scan the QR code with your app, save the backup code somewhere offline. Write it down — don’t screenshot.
- Complete KYC. Identity Verification → upload passport or driving licence and take a selfie. Mine cleared in 14 minutes. Some take a few hours.
- Add a payment method. If you’re using card, add it now. If P2P, you’ll set up the trade in the funding step below.
Account ready. Time to fund.
Funding: card vs P2P vs bank vs crypto deposit
Four ways to put money on the platform. Each has a different cost and speed.
| Method | Fee | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crypto deposit | Network fee only | 1–60 min | Already hold USDT/USDC/ETH elsewhere |
| P2P (bank transfer) | 0% (small rate spread) | 5–30 min | Best rate, slightly more steps |
| Bank transfer (third-party) | 0.5–1.5% | 1–3 hours | Mid-size buys |
| Card on-ramp | 1–3% | Instant | First small buy, can’t wait |
Crypto deposit is the cheapest route if you already hold USDT or USDC somewhere else. Send to your BitGet deposit address. For USDT, the TRC-20 network costs about 1 USDT in fees — ERC-20 is closer to 8 USDT. Pick the right network or the funds don’t land.
P2P is the highest-effort, lowest-fee path. You’re matched with another user selling USDT for your local currency. You pay them via bank transfer, BitGet escrows the USDT, they release once your bank confirms. Rates usually sit within 0.5% of mid-market.
Bank transfer through third-party on-ramps is the middle ground — fees visible, clears in a few hours.
Card on-ramp is the fastest and most expensive. The fee is bundled into the quoted rate — USDT will cost 1.5–3% above spot. Convenient. Bad value over time. Fine for a first $50 just to test the workflow.
My rule for OP specifically: card for the first $50, P2P or crypto deposit for everything after.
Placing your first OP trade
USDT is sitting in your spot account. Two ways to convert it to OP.
Option A: Market order (fast, slightly worse fill)
A market order buys at the best available price in the book, instantly. Fine for small buys.
- Open the BitGet app or web platform. Go to Spot Trading.
- Search OP/USDT and select it.
- On the buy side, select Market.
- Enter the USDT amount (or use the percentage slider — 25%, 50%, 100% of available USDT).
- Tap Buy OP. The trade fills in a second or two. OP appears in your spot wallet.
You pay 0.10% in fees plus a small slippage cost.
Option B: Limit order (slower, better price)
A limit order parks your buy at a price you set. You wait for the market to come to you.
- Open Spot Trading, select OP/USDT.
- On the buy side, select Limit.
- Check the current price. Set your limit slightly below the current ask — e.g. if OP is trading at $2.40, set your limit at $2.36.
- Enter the USDT amount.
- Tap Buy OP. The order sits in the book until OP drops to your price.
For anything over $100, limit orders are the right call on OP. The token can move 5–10% in a session when L2 news drops. The full breakdown of order types is in the BitGet order types post.
How much OP to buy (position sizing)
The question every beginner asks after the first sharp move. Three rules I’d hand a new buyer.
Rule one: OP is a high-beta altcoin. When ETH moves 3%, OP often moves 6–12% in the same direction. The L2 token basket trades together — when one moves, all of them move. If a 50% drawdown on your OP would change how you sleep, the position is too big.
Rule two: split your entry over weeks. Pick a target — say £1,000 of OP over three months — and split into 12 weekly buys. You won’t hit the bottom. You won’t hit the top. You’ll get a reasonable average and you’ll learn the platform without staring at charts every hour.
Rule three: keep stablecoin dry powder. OP has had multi-month drawdowns of 70%+ between its all-time high and the late 2023 lows. If you go in 100% on day one and the price drops 60% in three months, you’ve got nothing left for cost averaging. Keep 30–40% of your OP budget as USDT for that exact scenario.
For a first-ever OP buy, start with the equivalent of a nice dinner. Place the trade. Watch the price for two weeks. See how you feel when OP drops 20% in a week (it will, eventually). If you sleep fine, scale up.
This is the section where I’d mention that learning to actually size positions and read charts is a skill you can’t shortcut by reading blog posts. If you want to learn to trade — not just read about it — Trade Travel Chill (affiliate) is the community I’m part of and the one structured education source I trust. Optional. Useful when you’re ready.
The OP airdrop history (and why governance matters)
The May 2022 OP airdrop is part of crypto folklore now. The first drop allocated roughly 214 million OP tokens — around 5% of the total supply at the time — to early users of Optimism, repeat Ethereum gas burners, and DAO voters who had participated in governance elsewhere. People who qualified for full allocations received OP that was worth several thousand dollars at peak prices, all for behaviour they’d already done.
Optimism has run additional airdrop seasons since — drops two, three, four, and five rolled out over 2022, 2023, and 2024, targeting different cohorts of users, delegates, and OP Stack contributors. Each round has been smaller per recipient but has continued to seed token distribution across the user base. The total airdrop allocation pool sits at roughly 19% of total OP supply — substantial by any measure. CoinDesk and Reuters both covered the early drops; current allocation details live on optimism.io.
There’s a real point in mentioning the airdrop history beyond the nostalgia. OP token holders vote on governance through the Optimism Collective — a dual-house structure split into a Token House (token holders) and a Citizens’ House (reputation-based). Token House decisions influence protocol upgrades, treasury spend, and the OP Stack roadmap. Citizens’ House handles retroactive public goods funding — RetroPGF — which has distributed tens of millions of dollars in OP to developers and contributors across multiple funding rounds.
If you hold OP, you can delegate your votes (you don’t lose custody — delegation is on-chain) to delegates who actually participate in governance. Whether that influence translates into price upside is debatable. Whether the governance structure itself is more aligned with users than most token DAOs I’ve watched is, in my opinion, a clear yes.
Storing OP: Ledger, MetaMask, or exchange?
You bought the OP. Where does it live?
Exchange (BitGet)
Fine for your active trading float — the amount you’d be comfortable losing without losing sleep. BitGet publishes Proof of Reserves and lets you withdraw at any time. But you don’t hold the private keys. That distinction matters far more in a crisis than in a normal Tuesday.
Hot wallet (MetaMask + Optimism network)
OP and any other Optimism-native tokens live on the Optimism chain. To hold them in a hot wallet, you add the Optimism network to MetaMask (or any EVM wallet — Rabby, Frame, OKX Wallet all support custom networks). RPC details are public — chainlist.org makes adding the network a two-click job.
Once Optimism is added, OP just appears as an ERC-20 token on that network. You can use it on Velodrome, the main Optimism DEX, in any L2 DeFi position, or send it to anyone with an EVM-compatible wallet. Hot wallets are connected to the internet — convenient and exposed in equal measure. Fine for spending. Not for life savings. The crypto wallets explained post covers the trade-offs.
Cold wallet (Ledger Nano X)
A Ledger Nano X is a hardware wallet — a USB device that stores your private keys offline. OP is fully supported via the Ethereum app and either Ledger Live or MetaMask in hardware-wallet mode. You confirm every transaction physically on the device, so even a compromised laptop can’t drain you.
Ledger costs about £150. Cheaper than the lesson of an exchange collapse. Order from the Ledger store (affiliate). Set it up, write the 24-word seed on the card it ships with, store the card somewhere fireproof and somewhere away from your home computer. The hot vs cold wallet comparison covers the trade-offs in more detail. Ledger vs Trezor if you’re choosing between the two main brands.
The split I run for OP
- Trading float on BitGet: 20% — for active trades.
- MetaMask + Optimism network: 10% — for Velodrome and other L2 DApps.
- Ledger long-term: 70% — doesn’t move except to top up.
Full self-custody playbook in the how to store crypto safely guide. And the basics of why protecting your seed phrase storage properly matters more than any other security step.
Ready to buy your first OP?
Sign-up takes 90 seconds, KYC usually clears same-day, and BitGet has one of the deepest OP/USDT order books outside Binance and Coinbase.
Affiliate link. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Bridging OP between Ethereum mainnet and Optimism
If you already own ETH or USDC on Ethereum mainnet and want to move funds onto the Optimism network directly — without going through BitGet — bridging is the way. There are two main routes.
The official Optimism Bridge at app.optimism.io is the canonical option. Deposits from mainnet to Optimism arrive in a few minutes and you pay only Ethereum gas. Withdrawals back to mainnet, though, sit through the seven-day Optimistic Rollup challenge window. That’s the standard security trade-off — your funds are locked while the chain waits for any fraud proofs to be submitted.
Third-party bridges like Across, Hop Protocol, and Stargate let you cross both ways in minutes for a small fee, typically 0.05–0.3% of the bridged amount. They use liquidity provider networks to front the funds on the destination chain, then settle through the canonical bridge in the background. Faster, slightly more expensive, fine for most use cases.
For buying OP specifically, bridging is rarely the right route. You’d need ETH already, and you’d be swapping into OP on a DEX like Velodrome — usually for slightly worse pricing than the BitGet order book. Use bridges for funds you already hold and want on L2. Use BitGet for fresh OP purchases.
Common OP beginner mistakes
The mistakes I see most often when people start buying OP.
Confusing OP with the Optimism network. OP is the governance token. The Optimism network is the L2 chain. You can use the Optimism network — pay gas in ETH — without ever holding OP. Holding OP doesn’t give you a fee discount. Don’t buy OP because you want to use the chain.
Sending OP on the wrong network. When you withdraw OP from BitGet, you pick either Optimism, Arbitrum (via bridge), or Ethereum mainnet. Different networks. Different gas costs. If you send to MetaMask on Ethereum mainnet, you can still see and use the tokens — gas will be expensive. If you send Optimism-network OP to a wallet that doesn’t support Optimism, the tokens are essentially stuck until you add the network. Gas fees explained walks through this in detail.
Ignoring the seven-day withdrawal window. If you bridge OP back from Optimism to Ethereum mainnet using the canonical bridge, expect seven days in limbo. Use a third-party fast bridge if you need the funds quickly.
Storing on the exchange forever. Trading float yes. Life savings no. Always move long-term holdings to a Ledger. Exchange collapses don’t announce themselves in advance.
Chasing the next L2 token before holding the boring ones. Every cycle brings a new L2 with breathless coverage. Most of them underperform OP and ARB over a full cycle. Stick to the established L2s for your first six months.
Sharing the seed phrase. No legitimate company, no support agent, no platform will ever ask for your 24-word seed phrase. Anyone who does is trying to rob you. Phrase stays on paper, in your home, and nowhere else. Crypto scams guide covers the common attack vectors.
Ignoring 2FA. Set it up the second you create the account. Account drainers don’t break encryption — they phish credentials and target accounts without 2FA.
Jumping into leverage on day one. OP is volatile enough on spot. The BitGet futures USDT-M and BitGet leverage explained posts are research material — not instructions to act on in week one. Six months of spot before you touch perps.
Confusing Optimism with Arbitrum. Both are Optimistic Rollups. Both are major Ethereum L2s. The OP and ARB tokens are governance for two separate ecosystems with different stack architectures. The how to buy Arbitrum post covers the other side.
One last thing.
If this walkthrough saved you a few hours of research, signing up through my affiliate link costs you nothing and helps keep the lights on.
Affiliate link.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum amount of Optimism I can buy on BitGet?
You can buy fractional OP from around $1 worth. OP is an ERC-20 token divisible to 18 decimal places, so there’s no whole-token requirement. Most people start with $50–$200 to learn the interface before scaling up.
Do I need to verify my identity to buy OP on BitGet?
Yes for full functionality. You can hold and trade limited amounts without KYC, but withdrawal limits are tiny. KYC usually clears within 1–24 hours and unlocks full deposit and withdrawal limits. KYC explained covers what to expect.
Can I buy Optimism on BitGet with a credit card?
Yes, but I wouldn’t. Card on-ramps charge 1–3%, credit card providers often add a cash-advance fee on top, and many cards block crypto purchases anyway. Use debit, bank transfer, or P2P instead.
What’s the cheapest way to buy OP on BitGet?
P2P trading or depositing USDT from another wallet. P2P fees are usually zero with a small rate spread. Crypto deposit only costs the network fee for the token you’re transferring in.
Should I keep my OP on BitGet or move it to a wallet?
Move long-term holdings to a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano X. MetaMask with the Optimism network added for everyday DApp use. Keep only an active trading float on the exchange.
What’s the OP airdrop and can I still qualify?
The first OP airdrop in May 2022 distributed roughly 214 million tokens to early users of Optimism and Ethereum governance voters. Multiple additional drops have followed for ongoing users, delegates, and OP Stack contributors. Future drops are likely — using the chain actively is the only way to qualify in advance.
Is Optimism the same as Base?
No. Base is built on the OP Stack — the same open-source codebase Optimism uses — but it’s a separate chain with its own token economy (no token currently) and run by Coinbase. Both share the Superchain vision but they’re distinct networks.
Final word
The first OP buy teaches you the workflow for every L2 trade after it. Sign up. KYC. Fund cheaply. Place a limit order. Move the long-term bag to a Ledger. Don’t chase every new L2 token that launches.
That’s the short version. Do those five things in that order and you’ve already avoided the mistakes that cost most beginners 40% in their first six months in the L2 sector.
Right — over to you.
One more thing: Buying a token doesn’t mean it will go up. Most altcoins underperform Bitcoin over long enough timeframes. Only buy what you can afford to lose, and never put your rent money in crypto. If a YouTuber tells you a coin will 100x — they’re guessing too.
Related posts
- How to Buy Ethereum (ETH) on BitGet: Step-by-Step
- How to Buy Arbitrum (ARB) on BitGet: Step-by-Step
- How to Store Crypto Safely: The Self-Custody Guide
