Layer 2 blockchain · settles to Ethereum
Mode ticker MODE
Summary
Optimistic rollup on Ethereum built from the OP Stack. One sequencer orders transactions into 2-second L2 blocks, and a batcher posts the transaction data to Ethereum as blobs or calldata so anyone can rebuild the chain from Ethereum. A single permissioned proposer posts state claims to Ethereum through dispute games, and only the Conduit multisig may challenge them; L2BEAT says the game commits to a placeholder starting state, so a dispute cannot be settled by re-executing the chain. Withdrawals therefore rely on the proposer and challenger acting honestly. Users can force a transaction in through Ethereum, with up to a 12-hour delay. Block production uses no stake or work of its own. 1920212225
Design
- System
- Layer 2 blockchainMode Mainnet (chain ID 34443) is an OP Stack optimistic rollup operated by Conduit that posts all transaction data to Ethereum. ETH pays gas; MODE is an 18-decimal governance token contract on Mode and does not pay gas. L2BEAT currently groups Mode with 'Others' rather than rollups because its fraud-proof system is not functional, and in September 2026 Mode left Optimism's shared Superchain governance. It keeps the Layer 2 class because its data, bridge and withdrawals are anchored to Ethereum.
- Settles to
- EthereumAll transaction data is posted to Ethereum. OP Stack blocks are final once the Ethereum block holding their data is finalized, typically 15 to 30 minutes after submission per Optimism docs. Bridge withdrawals are proven after about an hour and then wait 7 days before they can be claimed on Ethereum, per Mode's guide; L2BEAT describes a state-root challenge period of at least 3.5 days. Withdrawals depend on one permissioned proposer and on a 4-of-11 Conduit multisig that can upgrade the Ethereum contracts with no delay.
- Settlement family
- Ethereum / EVM
- Scarce resource
- Other
- State model
- Accounts
- Finality
- Other
- Who makes blocks
- One sequencer. The Optimism governance proposal of 2 September 2026 says Conduit operates Mode; L2BEAT lists a single permissioned proposer address and names the Conduit multisig as the only challenger and as the guardian that can pause withdrawals and blacklist dispute games.
- Fork choice
- No open L2 fork choice: the sequencer's blocks are canonical, and the sequencer can still reorganize them until their data lands on Ethereum; after that the chain is derived from Ethereum data, and Ethereum's own finality governs it. Fraud-proof challenges do not reorganize the chain; they only affect bridge withdrawals.
Qualifications
- Scarce resource · Not applicable. Mode block production uses no stake or work of its own; the sequencer is assigned by the operator, and security comes from Ethereum data availability plus the permissioned proposer and challenger.
- Finality · Partial. OP Stack chains have three stages: unsafe (in a sequencer block, which the sequencer can still reorganize), safe (data posted to Ethereum) and finalized (the Ethereum block holding the data is final). Only the last inherits Ethereum finality.
- Upgrade authority · Applies. A 4-of-11 Conduit multisig can upgrade Mode's Ethereum contracts instantly. An Optimism proposal of 2 September 2026 moved the admin keys from an Optimism safe to it, L2BEAT records the change on 16 September 2026, and a read of the Ethereum contracts during review showed the admin owner, dispute-game factory owner and pause guardian all set to it. Mode's security page (still describing a multisig shared with Optimism) and the Superchain Registry file (still marking Mode as governed by Optimism, with the old owner) lag the chain.
- Fraud proofs · Partial. Dispute-game contracts are deployed on Ethereum, but only one permissioned proposer can post state claims and only the Conduit multisig can challenge. L2BEAT says the game commits to a placeholder starting state, so no dispute can be resolved by execution; L2BEAT rates Mode below Stage 0.
- Network status · Applies. Mode Mainnet was producing blocks at review time, and no sunset or migration notice was found on Mode's site or docs. OP Labs ended its monitoring and upgrade support after a notice delivered on 30 July 2026, and Mode's governance forum showed no new topics after June 2025.
Tradeoffs
- Emphasizes
- Scalability
- Gives up
- Decentralized operation and withdrawal security: one operator-run sequencer orders all transactions, one permissioned proposer posts state claims, the fraud-proof game cannot settle disputes by execution, and a 4-of-11 Conduit multisig can upgrade the Ethereum contracts instantly with no exit window, per L2BEAT.Posting all transaction data to Ethereum and the 12-hour forced-inclusion path are the Ethereum-derived protections that remain. Earlier Optimism Security Council custody of the upgrade keys ended in September 2026, so Mode no longer shares the Superchain's governance safeguards.
- Full node at home
- Unknown 5624323336Mode's 2024 node page names op-geth, which lost support on 31 May 2026 and cannot follow Karst; its linked repository asked for 16 GB RAM and a 200 GB SSD plus Ethereum RPC and beacon endpoints. Conduit's current generic guide runs op-reth as an archive node on at least 4 cores, 16 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD, consumer-class hardware. Whether an outsider can run one is not established: Conduit says the chain operator must switch on external nodes, not confirmed for Mode, and that self-hosted nodes are outside its standard support.
- Throughput claims
- No classified figure recorded
Scaling layers
No scaling layer recorded in this profile.
Capabilities
| Capability | How it is provided | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Account abstraction | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Atomic swaps | Unknown | A protocol-level trust-minimized swap mechanism on Mode was not reviewed; EVM contracts could implement hash-locked swaps, but none was verified. |
| Authenticated data publication | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
| Light clients | Unknown | No Mode light client was reviewed. State claims on Ethereum come from one permissioned proposer and cannot be disputed by execution, so checking Mode state against them would trust that proposer. |
| Native staking or delegation | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| On-chain governance | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Parallel execution | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Payment or state channels | Unknown | No payment or state channel layer anchored to Mode was reviewed. |
| Programmable spending | Native (protocol or core-team software) Earlier definition | Mode runs EVM smart contracts deployed with standard Ethereum tools such as Remix and Hardhat, so spend conditions are written as contracts. Karst added the Osaka per-transaction gas cap and precompile repricing on Mode in July 2026. 151624 |
| Protocol-verified messaging | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Reversible transfers or recovery | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
| Rollups | Unknown | Chains that settle to Mode were not reviewed. Mode itself is a rollup on Ethereum; its settlement is described in the mechanism and Ethereum dependency notes. |
| Shielded transfers | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Signed partial offers | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
Reading these values
- How this feature is provided
- Built into the protocol, core-team software or independent software says where a feature lives and who can change it. These are implementation layers, not quality: core-team software is not closer to the protocol than independent software.
- Structured assessment pending
- The shared review has not assessed this feature for any chain yet (Account abstraction, Native staking or delegation, On-chain governance, Parallel execution, Protocol-verified messaging and Shielded transfers). That does not mean it is absent, and a chain’s profile may already describe it.
- Unknown
- The review has not established this for this chain under the current definition; the note beside it says why. Unknown is not absent and not a low score. A feature reads “Not present” only when a source shows it is absent.
- Earlier definition
- Payment or state channels, Programmable spending and Rollups keep the earlier definition until the next fact-check. There, “Native” does not separate the protocol from core-team software, “Ecosystem software” does not say who publishes it, and “Partial” does not say which layer.
- Reading across rows
- The list of capabilities is incomplete. Do not read these rows as a chain leading or lagging overall.
Ecosystem & custody
| Product type | Status | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Automated market makers | ThinKim Exchange, Velodrome, SupSwap, SwapMode | Mode's ecosystem page lists several DEXes, and Kim's docs describe it as a DEX built on Mode. DefiLlama's DEX tracker recorded low trading volume across all Mode venues in the 30 days before review, so venues exist but activity is small. Liquidity depth was not measured. 172627 |
| Issuer-native stablecoins | None found | No issuer-native stablecoin was found on Mode: Circle's native USDC list and Tether's supported-chain list do not name Mode. Mode's bridge page says its canonical bridge carries USDC and USDT from Ethereum, so the USDC and USDT on Mode are bridged versions backed by tokens locked on Ethereum, not issuer-native tokens. 7122829 |
| Algorithmic stablecoins | Unknown | Algorithmic or hybrid stablecoins on Mode were not reviewed. |
| Bridges | Native to the protocolMode canonical bridge (OP Stack standard bridge, app.mode.network) | Mode's canonical bridge is a fork of Optimism's bridge carrying ETH, USDC, USDT and WBTC. Mode's guide says deposits take up to about 10 minutes and withdrawals are proven after about an hour, then wait 7 days before claiming on Ethereum. Mode's web interface was not confirmed: the guides' app.mode.network link redirects to a landing page, and the network page's bridge.mode.network link served an expired certificate. The ecosystem page also lists third-party bridges such as Rhino.fi, Meson and Orbiter; their current Mode support was not checked. Risk: Withdrawals depend on one permissioned proposer, and L2BEAT says disputes cannot be settled by execution. A 4-of-11 Conduit multisig can upgrade the bridge contracts instantly with no exit window, and can pause withdrawals as guardian. In August 2024 Mode ran a bridge upgrade on Ethereum to rescue 4,880 ETH of stuck funds, which shows that whoever holds the upgrade key can move bridged funds. 478910171920 |
| Block explorers | ThinBlockscout (explorer.mode.network) | Mode's docs and network settings name the Blockscout explorer, which was serving Mode Mainnet data at review time. The docs also name ModeScan (modescan.io), but that domain did not resolve during this review; the ecosystem page lists Routescan, which was not checked. Explorer indexes are not canonical consensus. 1111725 |
| Hardware wallets | ThinTrezor Safe 3, 5 and 7 (through MetaMask or Rabby) | See custody rows: Trezor's MODE page lists the Mode network, but Trezor Suite's own network list does not include it, so network use goes through MetaMask or Rabby; Ledger Wallet's code has no Mode network. 303435 |
Hardware-wallet custody
| Device maker | Status | What users can and cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger | UnknownSame as native: Unknown | Ledger Wallet's current code has no Mode network, Ledger's Mode coin page returned 404, and the first page of Ledger's supported crypto assets list did not show Mode or MODE. Whether a Ledger can sign Mode transactions through a third-party wallet was not verified. 3134 |
| Trezor | Through an intermediaryMetaMask or Rabby (third-party wallet apps named by Trezor)Same as native: Unknown | Can: Use the Mode network with a Trezor Safe 3, Safe 5 or Safe 7 through MetaMask or Rabby; Trezor's MODE page lists Mode among the token's supported networks Can: Hold MODE on Ethereum, Base or OP Mainnet in Trezor Suite, networks that Suite supports and that the MODE page lists Cannot: Manage Mode network accounts in Trezor Suite itself: Suite's current network list does not include ModeTrezor's MODE page is a token page that names Trezor Suite, MetaMask and Rabby without tying them to networks. Because Trezor Suite's current network code has no Mode entry, the working path is a third-party wallet. Older Trezor models were not reviewed. 3035 |
Public data
iKnow Blockchain has no public-data lookups for Mode yet. This is a limit of the service, not a statement about the network.
| Lookup | Status | What it covers and its limits |
|---|---|---|
| Address or account | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| Tokens and assets | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| NFTs | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| Transactions | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
Sourced developments
Developments: Review overdue Reviewed Sep 27, 2026; next review was due Oct 7, 2026, 12:00 UTC.
Publication date · newest first
-
Optimism governance transferred Mode's admin keys to Conduit
An Optimism maintenance upgrade proposal moved ownership of Mode's Ethereum-side admin contract, dispute-game factory and Mode-side admin contract from an Optimism-controlled safe to a Conduit safe, ending Optimism governance of Mode. L2BEAT records the change as executed on 16 September 2026 and now lists a 4-of-11 Conduit multisig that can upgrade the contracts instantly.
- Proposal:maintenance upgrade proposal posted 2026-09-02 under the standard veto period
- Implementation:ownership transferred, per L2BEAT
- Release:not a software release
- Activation:active since 2026-09-16, per L2BEAT
Sources: Optimism Collective governance forum — Maintenance Upgrade Proposal: Mode, Metal, Zora, and Dust Ownership Transfer to Conduit (external site) · L2BEAT — Mode Network (external site)
-
Karst hard fork (OP Stack Upgrade 19) activated on Mode
Mode was among the OP Stack chains named for the Karst upgrade. Karst added a subset of Ethereum's Osaka changes on the L2, including a per-transaction gas cap of about 16.8 million gas and higher costs for some precompiles, introduced a new way to upgrade L2 system contracts, and required node operators to move from op-geth to op-reth.
- Proposal:Optimism governance upgrade proposal
- Implementation:shipped in OP Stack releases
- Release:op-node and op-reth releases named in the notice
- Activation:active on Mode since 2026-07-08
Sources: Optimism Docs — Upgrade 19: Karst hard fork (external site) · Optimism Docs — Notice archive (external site) · Optimism (ethereum-optimism/superchain-registry) — Superchain Registry: mainnet/mode.toml (external site) · L2BEAT — Mode Network (external site)
-
Jovian hard fork (OP Stack Upgrade 17) activated on Mode
Mode was among the chains named for the Jovian upgrade, which lets chain operators set a minimum base fee, adds a block limit on estimated Ethereum data use, and changes how the operator fee is calculated.
- Proposal:Optimism governance upgrade proposal
- Implementation:shipped in OP Stack releases
- Release:released before activation
- Activation:active on Mode since 2025-12-02
Sources: Optimism Docs — Upgrade 17: Jovian hard fork (external site) · Optimism (ethereum-optimism/superchain-registry) — Superchain Registry: mainnet/mode.toml (external site)
Topics your AI can explain
Your AI can explain these topics for Mode through the connection, with sources.
Known gaps
What this profile's review did not establish:
- Mode's own security page, key-handover page and contract list are out of date: they describe joint Optimism control and list the older output-oracle contract, while the Optimism proposal, L2BEAT and a read of the Ethereum contracts show a 4-of-11 Conduit multisig in control since September 2026.
- The identities of the eleven Conduit multisig signers and the operator of the proposer address were not sourced.
- The claim that the dispute game commits to a placeholder starting state is sourced to L2BEAT only; it was not confirmed on an Optimism, Conduit or Mode page.
- The Superchain Registry file still marks Mode as governed by Optimism; whether and when it will be updated, and whether Mode will keep receiving future OP Stack upgrades now that OP Labs support has ended, is not published.
- Current Mode node requirements are unknown: Mode's node page and the linked Conduit repository date from 2024 and name op-geth, which is no longer supported, and Conduit's current generic node guide does not name Mode or say whether Mode's operator has enabled external nodes, so the home-node posture is unknown.
- Mode's bridge web interface was not confirmed: the app.mode.network link in the bridge guides redirects to a landing page, and the bridge.mode.network link in the network details served an expired certificate during review.
- Whether Mode's veMODE gauge seasons and OP incentives still run was not confirmed; the Season 5 page gives no year and the governance forum's newest topics are from June 2025.
- Ledger support for the Mode network or MODE was not verified: Ledger Wallet's code has no Mode network, the coin page returned 404, and MODE was not on the first page of the supported-assets list.
- The Trezor rating rests on Trezor Suite's current network code, which has no Mode entry; Trezor's MODE page does not tie wallet apps to networks.
- The ModeScan explorer domain named in Mode's docs did not resolve; Routescan's Mode explorer was not checked.
- The contracts and backing of DAI and other bridged tokens on Mode were not checked; third-party bridges listed on Mode's ecosystem page were not checked for current support.
- Sequencer Fee Sharing, which Mode's quick-start code still references, was not confirmed as operating.
- Atomic-swap, reversible-transfer and recovery, light-client, channel and algorithmic-stablecoin surfaces on Mode were not reviewed; no throughput claims were recorded.
- No official Mode blog post about leaving Superchain governance was found; Mode's Mirror blog and community blog returned 403 to this review.
Sources
Oldest dated source check: Source checked Sep 27, 2026 Next check due Oct 27, 2026.
- Network Details (external site)
- Mode L2 Security Model (external site)
- 06/08/2024 Mode Mainnet Key Handover (external site)
- 01/08/2024 Bridge Upgrade Fund Rescue (external site)
- Node Operators (external site)
- mode-network/rollup-node (Conduit node) (external site)
- Bridge (external site)
- Bridge to Mode (external site)
- Bridge from Mode (external site)
- Bridge (tools) (external site)
- Block Explorers (external site)
- Tokens (mainnet contract addresses) (external site)
- MODE Tokenomics (external site)
- L1/L2 Mainnet Contracts (external site)
- Quick start (external site)
- Deploying a Smart Contract: Using Hardhat (external site)
- Ecosystem (external site)
- Mode governance forum: latest topics (external site)
- Mode Network (external site)
- Maintenance Upgrade Proposal: Mode, Metal, Zora, and Dust Ownership Transfer to Conduit (external site)
- Superchain Registry: mainnet/mode.toml (external site)
- Transaction finality (external site)
- Transaction fees (external site)
- Upgrade 19: Karst hard fork (external site)
- Mode Mainnet blockchain explorer (external site)
- Kim documentation (external site)
- DEX overview for Mode (API) (external site)
- USDC Contract Addresses (external site)
- Supported Protocols (external site)
- Mode wallet (external site)
- Supported crypto assets (external site)
- Run an OP Stack Node (external site)
- conduitxyz/conduit-optimism-external-node (external site)
- ledger-live: coin-module loaders (list of networks Ledger Wallet can add) (external site)
- trezor-suite: Ethereum-style network configuration (develop branch) (external site)
- Spin up your own Ethereum node (external site)
Report an error
Found something wrong or out of date? Reporting is free, and every chain goes through the same process. Published corrections appear in the public log.
Funding disclosure
Funding disclosures appear here when an upkeep arrangement exists, in the form “Upkeep funded by [name]; verdicts unaffected.” The funder ledger has not been published yet. Neutrality & funding