On July 2, ZKsync launched Elastic Chain, the ZKsync 3.0 protocol upgrade. This upgrade allows for the creation of an interoperable ZK chain network built from the ZK Stack – more like a ZK version of Optimism’s Superchain and Arbitrum’s Orbit. According to BSCN reports, Lens Protocol plans to officially launch the mainnet on ZKsync in the last quarter of 2024.
On September 4th, the long-awaited upgrade from $MATIC to $POL will launch 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. Users who stake and delegate $MATIC on Ethereum, and the $MATIC they use to secure the Polygon PoS network will automatically be converted to $POL.
In this issue’s editorial, we take a deep dive into Ethereum’s Layer 2 industry and look at the industry’s giants.
Since Arbitrum and Optimism were the first to enter the Rollup race in 2021, dozens of other networks have emerged with different approaches to expanding functionality on Ethereum. According to L2BEAT, there are currently 63 active Layer 2 networks, with another 80 under development. The total value locked (TVL) of these networks is approximately $44 billion. The top five networks account for the vast majority of this TVL, accounting for over 80% of the total value. It can be said that they are the whales of Ethereum Layer 2.
In this article, we’ll briefly introduce these top Layer2 networks, highlighting their features, supported projects, and more. let's start.
1. Top five Ethereum Layer2 networks in terms of TVL
1) No. 5: Mantle
At No. 5 is Mantle, with TVL of $1.37 billion as of this writing. Launched in July 2023, Mantle aims to drive mass adoption of decentralization and token governance technologies. Over the past month, the network recorded 797,000 active addresses and 13.59 million transactions. Mantle takes a connected approach, dividing trade execution, consensus, settlement and data availability into different layers.
An important feature of the Mantle ecosystem is its strong financial support and incentive program. One of these is a $200 million ecosystem fund catalyzed by $100 million USDC provided by BitDAO’s treasury to invest in native applications and technology partners built on the Mantle network. They have also provided a total of $300 million in $USDx, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and $MNT to facilitate ecosystem growth and partnerships by providing liquidity support for applications. This liquidity support helps attract and retain projects building on Mantle.
To mark its one-year anniversary, Mantle is running a commemorative NFT minting event that is still ongoing.
2) No. 4 Blast
Blast Layer2 is an Optimistic Rollup that provides native revenue generation capabilities for Ethereum and stablecoins. This means that users can earn income directly by holding Ethereum and stablecoins on the Blast Layer2 network, without the need for additional staking or income farming protocols. The network has a total value locked (TVL) of $2.65 billion, with over 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 retain Gas revenue or use it to subsidize users’ Gas fees. Blast’s airdrop snapshot and token distribution will be carried out 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 cross-chain between Blast and the Ethereum mainnet in seven days, which is twice as fast as the previous 14 days. Provide borrowing like Orbit Protocol
3) No. 3 Optimism
The Optimism mainnet will be launched in December 2021. It is now the third largest Layer 2 solution in the Ethereum ecosystem, with a total value locked (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 Layer 2 network ecosystem they call Superchain.
A portion of Optimism’s transaction fees are used in the Reverse Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) program, which rewards projects that provide value to the Optimism ecosystem. Optimism’s Retro Funding program launches in 2023. Applications for the first round of funding opened in January 2023, and since then Optimism has allocated $850 million in $OP (20% of the initial token supply) to fund the initiative. In the first three rounds, a total of 30 million OPTokens were distributed to contributors. RPGF is currently in 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. Over the past month, the network had 9.55 million active addresses and 94.12 million transactions.
Base is designed to be a highly secure and decentralized Layer2 solution leveraging 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 like Aave, Synthetix, Immutable X, and Uniswap run on Base.
5) No. 1 Arbitrum
Arbitrum is a giant among Ethereum rollups. The network is firmly at the top of the list, accounting for approximately 40% of the entire Layer 2 market share. In the past 30 days, 7.15 million active addresses interacted with the network, with 62.13 million transactions.
Similar to Optimism, Arbitrum is also building a permissionless chain ecosystem, which they call Arbitrum Orbit. Arbitrum One is used by many well-known DeFi platforms, 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 and aims to further expand the functionality of the Ethereum blockchain. Arbitrum Nova further reduces costs and is one of the most cost-effective blockchains available. The chain mainly focuses on high-throughput DApps, making it ideal for gaming applications, NFTs, tools, nodes, and cross-chains.
2. Relevant data
The total locked value on Layer2 exceeded $40 billion!
Image source: BanklessDAO
The top ten projects are ranked by total locked value (TVL):
Image source: BanklessDAO
3. Project details
1) Decision
Top projects ranked by total value locked (TVL) in the last seven days:
Image source: BanklessDAO
2）Optimism
Top projects ranked by total value locked (TVL) in the last seven days:
Image source: BanklessDAO
3）ZKsync
Top projects ranked by total value locked (TVL) in the last seven days:
Image source: BanklessDAO
4) from EVM
Top projects ranked by total value locked (TVL) in the last seven days:
Image source: BanklessDAO
[Disclaimer] There are risks in the market, so investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions contained in this article are appropriate for their particular circumstances. Invest accordingly and do so at your own risk.
This article is reprinted with permission from: "Deep Wave TechFlow"
Original author: Bankless
