According to CryptoPotato, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron has expressed his discontent with layer-3 (L3) networks, stating that their existence takes away Ethereum's value. This comes amid growing excitement around L3 networks such as Degen Chain, which are built on top of layer-2 (L2) networks to facilitate application-specific dApps that offer solutions such as scaling, costs, and interoperability.
Boiron wrote that Polygon Labs, a layer-2 scaling network for Ethereum, does not engage with layer-3s as they are unnecessary for scaling existing networks. He also expressed concerns that L3 networks could compromise Ethereum's security and overall value. Boiron's view was met with opposition, with some arguing that L2s on Ethereum are value on Ethereum. Boiron partially agreed but maintained that L2 value does not equate to Ethereum value.
Boiron clarified that Polygon Labs allows developers to build L3s on various platforms, including Polygon networks, and is focusing on scaling Ethereum while ensuring fair value distribution between Polygon and Ethereum. He reiterated Polygon's mission to scale Ethereum using parallelization of the EVM and prioritizing privacy, arguing that L3s are not aligned with this objective. The debate around L3s was initially sparked by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in late 2022 when he mentioned that these chains would serve a different purpose from scaling, offering specialized functionality. He emphasized that a third layer on the blockchain would only be justified if it introduced unique functions not provided by layer-2s. Notably, the current leaders within the L3 ecosystem are Orbs, zkSync Hyperchains, Xai, and the recently launched Degen Chain.