On July 2, ZKSync launched Elastic Chain, the ZKSync 3.0 protocol upgrade. This upgrade allows the creation of an interoperable ZK chain network built on the ZK Stack - more like the ZK version of Optimism's Superchain and Arbitrum's Orbit. According to BSCN, Lens Protocol is scheduled to be officially launched on ZKSync in the last quarter of 2024.
On September 4, the long-awaited upgrade from MATIC to POL will be launched on the Polygon PoS network. POL will replace MATIC as the native gas and staking token on the PoS network. DeFi protocols and dApps on Polygon PoS, Ethereum, and zkEVM will update their infrastructure to support POL tokens. Users who stake and delegate MATIC on Ethereum will automatically convert their MATIC used to secure the Polygon PoS network to POL.
In this issue of editorial, we take a deep dive into the Layer2 space of Ethereum and look at the giants in this space.
Since Arbitrum and Optimism took the lead in the Rollup race in 2021, dozens of other networks have emerged with different approaches to scaling Ethereum. According to data from L2BEAT, there are currently 63 active Layer 2 networks and another 80 in development. The total locked value (TVL) of these networks is about $44 billion. The top five networks account for the vast majority of this TVL, more than 80% of the total value. It can be said that they are the whales of Ethereum L2.
In this post, we will briefly introduce these top Layer 2 networks, highlighting their features, supported projects, etc. Let’s get started.
1. Top 5 Ethereum Layer 2 Networks by TVL
1) No. 5: Mantle
Coming in at number 5 is Mantle, which has a TVL of $1.37 billion as of this writing. Mantle was launched in July 2023 to drive mass adoption of decentralization and token governance technologies. In the past month, the network recorded 797,000 active addresses and 13.59 million transactions. Mantle takes an interconnected approach, separating trade execution, consensus, settlement, and data availability into different layers.
An important feature of the Mantle ecosystem is its strong financial support and incentive programs. One of them is a $200 million ecosystem fund catalyzed by 100 million USDC provided by BitDAO's treasury to invest in local applications and technology partners built on the Mantle network. They also provided a total of $300 million in USDx, ETH, BTC, and MNT to promote ecosystem growth and partnerships by providing liquidity support for applications. This liquidity support helps attract and retain projects built on Mantle.
To mark its first anniversary, Mantle is running a commemorative NFT minting event, which is still ongoing.
2) No. 4 Blast
Blast L2 is an Optimistic Rollup that provides native yield generation capabilities for Ethereum (ETH) and stablecoins. This means that users can earn yield directly by holding ETH and stablecoins on the Blast L2 network without the need for additional staking or yield farming protocols. The network has a total locked value (TVL) of $2.65 billion, with more than 860,000 active addresses and 20.89 million transactions in the past month.
By sharing gas revenue with dApp developers, Blast gives developers the flexibility to choose to keep the gas revenue or use it to subsidize users' gas fees. Blast's airdrop snapshot and token distribution will be conducted on June 26, 2024, and users need to claim the airdrop within 30 days.
In addition to the notable airdrop, users on Blast can now bridge between Blast and the Ethereum mainnet in seven days, which is twice as fast as the previous 14 days. Offer lending like Orbit Protocol
3) No. 3 Optimism
The Optimism mainnet was launched in December 2021. It is now the third largest Layer 2 solution in the Ethereum ecosystem, with a total locked value (TVL) of $6.77 billion. The number of active addresses in the past month was 1.79 million, and the transaction volume was 14.21 million. The Optimism Foundation is not only building a Rollup, but also building an interconnected L2 network ecosystem they call Superchain.
Part of Optimism's transaction fees are used for the "Retro Public Goods Funding" (RetroPGF) program, which rewards projects that provide value to the Optimism ecosystem. Optimism's Retro Funding program (Retro Funding) was launched in 2023. The first round of funding applications opened in January 2023, and since then, Optimism has allocated 850 million OP tokens (20% of the initial token supply) to fund the program. In the first three rounds, a total of 30 million OP tokens were distributed to contributors. RPGF is currently entering its fourth round.
Some of the top projects running on Optimism include Aave V3, Synthetic, and Velodrome.
4) No. 2 Base
Launched by Coinbase in 2023, Base has experienced significant growth in a short period of time. The network has surpassed its competitors to become the second largest rollup, with its current total value locked (TVL) at $7.27 billion. In the past month, the network had 9.55 million active addresses and 94.12 million transactions.
Base aims to be a highly secure and decentralized Layer 2 solution that leverages Optimism's OP Stack, including advanced features such as fraud proofs and state commitments to ensure strong security. The network is also an important stakeholder in the Optimism Superchain initiative. Some top projects, such as Aave, Synthetix, Immutable X, and Uniswap, run on Base.
5) No. 1 Arbitrum
Arbitrum is a giant in Ethereum Rollup. The network ranks first, accounting for about 40% of the entire Layer 2 market share. In the past 30 days, there were 7.15 million active addresses interacting with the network, and the transaction volume reached 62.13 million.
Similar to Optimism, Arbitrum is also building an ecosystem of permissionless chains, which they call Arbitrum Orbit. Many well-known DeFi platforms use Arbitrum One, such as Uniswap, Aave, Ankr, and OpenSea.
In addition to Arbitrum One, Arbitrum also launched Arbitrum Nova in August 2022. Nova is a new chain built using AnyTrust technology that aims to further scale the Ethereum blockchain. Arbitrum Nova further reduces costs and is one of the most cost-effective blockchains currently available. The chain is primarily focused on high-throughput dApps, making it ideal for gaming applications, NFTs, tools, nodes, and bridges.
2. Related data
The total locked value on L2 exceeds 40 billion US dollars!
The top ten projects ranked by total locked value (TVL):
3. Project details
1) Decision
Top projects ranked by total locked value (TVL) in the last seven days:
2）Optimism
Top projects ranked by total locked value (TVL) in the last seven days:
3）zkSync
Top projects ranked by total locked value (TVL) in the last seven days:
4) from EVM
Top projects ranked by total locked value (TVL) in the last seven days:
