Benjamin Jones is a co-founder of Optimism and a director of the Optimism Foundation, where his work focuses on Ethereum scaling, interoperability, and decentralized governance design. He is a prominent voice in the Ethereum ecosystem, frequently speaking on the technical and strategic aspects of Layer 2 rollups, the "Superchain" model, open-source development, and sustainable funding mechanisms for public goods. ^[1]​

Education

Jones attended Northeastern University, where he graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematics. ^[2]​

Career

Jones's career began in academia and technology before transitioning full-time to the blockchain industry. From 2014 to 2016, he worked as a tutor at InstaEDU, where he taught university-level courses in physics, calculus, and differential equations. In 2016, he gained experience in software development as a Microscopy Instrumentation and Software Developer at Quantum Diamond Technologies Inc. In this role, he developed code in MATLAB and LabVIEW for NV-center magnetometry systems and assisted with laboratory instrumentation and modeling. He entered the blockchain sector in 2017 as a Blockchain Associate at the venture capital firm Underscore VC, a position he held until 2018. Following this, he co-founded Plasma Group in 2018, an organization focused on researching Ethereum scaling solutions, where he remained until 2019. In December 2019, Jones co-founded Optimism PBC, initially serving as Co-Founder and Chief Scientist. He held this role until April 2022. Since May 2022, he has served as a Director at the Optimism Foundation. ^[3]​

Interviews

Fireside with Miller

In an August 2025 fireside chat at the Pragma conference in New York, Jones joined Robert Miller of Flash Bots to discuss the evolving role of rollups and the long-term trajectory of Ethereum scaling. Jones described the “Superchain” as a network of aligned Layer 2 chains built with the OP Stack, designed to extend Ethereum’s security while significantly increasing throughput and enabling shared infrastructure across applications. He emphasized the strategic importance of open-source development, arguing that collaborative ecosystems are better positioned for sustainable growth than closed systems, especially as fintech companies begin launching their own chains. The conversation also explored competition between chains based on product utility rather than purely technical design, the economic implications of maximal extractable value (MEV), and the potential to redirect MEV toward user-aligned outcomes as the ecosystem matures. ^[5]

Fireside with Cazador

In a February 2025 fireside chat at Stanford BASSLite, Jones spoke with Xochitl Cazador about the mission and evolution of Optimism Foundation and its efforts to scale Ethereum. He explained how Optimism’s work on optimistic rollups and native interoperability is designed to reduce congestion and high fees while making blockchain infrastructure increasingly invisible to end users. Jones also reflected on Optimism’s shift from a nonprofit research initiative to a more resourced organization capable of funding protocol development and public goods, emphasizing the importance of open-source collaboration and sustainable governance. The discussion addressed the unique governance constraints faced by Layer 2 networks that rely on Layer 1 dispute resolution, as well as the long-term goal of ensuring blockchain ecosystems remain decentralized, user-friendly, and structurally aligned with public interest. ^[7]

Scaling Ethereum

In a July 2024 interview on The Defiant, Jones discussed the evolution of Optimism Foundation and its role as a leading Layer 2 network on Ethereum. He explained how Optimism’s “Superchain” vision aims to address congestion and high gas fees by enabling multiple interoperable chains to inherit Ethereum’s security while processing transactions in parallel, rather than relying on a single chain with limited throughput. Jones described the project’s transition from an early non-profit orientation to a more structured ecosystem supported by venture funding and the OP token, alongside a two-house governance model composed of a Token House and a Citizens’ House. The conversation also explored the technical distinctions between optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge rollups, the mechanics of cross-chain interoperability within the Superchain, and the role of retroactive public goods funding in sustaining development. He further compared Optimism’s multi-chain, collective approach with that of the Arbitrum Foundation, emphasizing long-term scalability and Ethereum’s potential to support broader financial use cases. ^[4]

Optimism’s Superchain

In a January 2025 interview with Empire, Jones outlined the strategy behind the Optimism Foundation and its “superchain” initiative, a coordinated network of Layer 2 chains built to scale Ethereum. He explained that the superchain model is intended to increase throughput and reduce congestion by allowing multiple interoperable chains to share standards, security assumptions, and communication infrastructure, while contrasting it with the open-source OP Stack, which offers greater customization but does not inherently align value capture or revenue sharing. Jones discussed efforts to improve cross-chain communication, streamline developer deployment, and create a more cohesive ecosystem for decentralized applications operating across multiple Layer 2 environments. The interview also addressed the sustainability of funding models, the role of open-source contributors in advancing core protocol development, and longer-term goals of concentrating a significant share of Ethereum activity within interoperable Layer 2 networks. He further noted the potential for AI tools to assist governance processes in decentralized autonomous organizations, particularly in analyzing proposals and supporting more informed decision-making. ^[6]