Force Inclusion & Censorship Resistance

What you'll learn

• Why Censorship Resistance Matters
• Arbitrum forceInclude: The L1 Delayed Inbox
• Optimism Deposit Transactions
• L2BEAT Stages: 0, 1, and 2
• The Practitioner Tradeoffs and What to Watch

Key terms

Force inclusion

The mechanism by which a user can compel inclusion of a transaction on L2 by submitting it directly to an L1 contract and waiting a configured delay, bypassing the sequencer entirely.

DelayedInbox (Arbitrum)

The L1 contract on Arbitrum that queues transactions for sequencer pickup. If the sequencer ignores a queued transaction beyond the delay (~24 hours), anyone can call forceInclusion to compel L2 inclusion.

OptimismPortal

The L1 contract on Optimism (and all OP Stack chains: Base, Mode, Zora, etc.) for deposit transactions. The sequencer must include L1-originated deposit events within the sequencing window or the L2 chain is considered invalid.

Sequencing window

The configurable delay in OP Stack chains (~12 hours on Optimism Mainnet) within which the sequencer must include L1 deposit events. Beyond this window, any node can compel inclusion.

L2BEAT Stage 0

The "training wheels" tier. The rollup uses cryptographic methods and posts data to L1, but operators retain meaningful authority (multisig upgrades without sufficient timelocks, proof systems possibly not on mainnet, whitelisted validators).

L2BEAT Stage 1

Limited training wheels. Functional proof system on mainnet, permissionless or multi-operator participation, timelocks on bridge upgrades. Security Council retains constrained override authority. Most major L2s sit here as of 2026.

L2BEAT Stage 2

Training wheels fully off. Autonomous proof system, no human override outside provable-bug emergencies. Very few L2s have reached Stage 2 as of 2026 — the explicit roadmap target for major rollups.

Security Council

A multisig of trusted parties retained by an L2 with emergency override authority (e.g., to pause the bridge or patch a bug). Constrained authority in Stage 1; very narrow authority (provable bugs only) in Stage 2.

Escape hatch

The general property that L2 users can exit their funds to L1 even under sequencer failure or compromise. Combines force-inclusion, working withdrawal proofs, and bridge contract correctness.