Records in shambles. Since its launch in 2015, the network Ethereum frequently faced congestion problems. To overcome this problem, it was decided to opt for a so-called roadmap “rollup centric”. Thus, these are the layers 2 which have been selected to improve the scalability of the network. This vision now seems to be bearing fruit.
Ethereum: Layers 2 are booming
As we have just discussed, the layers 2 were slated to be Ethereum’s scaling solution. Simply put, these allow you to deport part of the activity off the main Ethereum chain. The objective is to reduce the load on the latter. Additionally, L2s inherit the security of Ethereum, using the L1 as layer of settlement and periodically posting the status of L2 there.
In the space of a year, the L2 ecosystem has evolved considerably. Indeed, last August, they were still far from rivaling Ethereum in terms of activity. A situation that has now changed significantly. Sure enough, the L2s are now recording activity five times larger than Ethereum. In more detail, on August 21, the L2s recorded an average of 54 transactions per secondcompared to just over 11 on Ethereum.
In the lead, we find the L2 which has been the most popular in recent weeks, namely Base. It is followed by zkSync Era, Arbitrum and Optimism.
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The boom is just beginning for layers 2
Although the L2s seem to be delivering on their promise of decongesting Ethereum, it’s only just begun.
On the one hand, the performance of L2 will undergo a marked improvement with the deployment of the hard fork Cancun Deneb, which should take place at the end of the year. This introduces the long-awaited EIP-4844called “Proto Danksharding”. Without going into details, this will radically improve the performance of rollups, by reducing gas costs rollups during their publications on the L1. Consequently, the gas costs of L2 transactions should also decrease.
On the other hand, the L2s are still far from perfect. These are not not yet fully decentralized and present some security risks. The L2Beat site does an excellent job of compiling data related to L2s and associated risks. We also recently addressed the subject of decentralization of Sequencers in the newspaper.
Anyway, it is worth remembering that a year ago, these L2s were far from what they are today. Developments are made frequently, thus improving their ecosystem.
For its part, layer 2 Base has been a resounding success since its launch. Indeed, the solution is at the heart of attention and has already surpassed Optimism and Arbitrum in terms of daily transactions.
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