👉👉👉 #Polygon CEO says L3s are taking value away from #Ethereum , sparking debate
Polygon CEO Marc Boiron ignited controversy on X over the weekend by arguing against the necessity of layer-3 networks for scaling Ethereum, claiming they only drain value from the mainnet.
Boiron's assertion on April 1 contended that Polygon Labs, a #Layer2 scaling solution for Ethereum, refrains from engaging with layer 3s as they don't contribute to scaling existing networks. He stated, "L3s exist solely to siphon value away from Ethereum and onto the L2s they are built upon."
Boiron faced opposition, with one commenter arguing that layer-2s on Ethereum contribute value to the ecosystem. Boiron partly agreed but illustrated a hypothetical scenario, suggesting that if all L3s settled to one L2, Ethereum would capture minimal value, potentially compromising its security.
Boiron emphasized that Polygon aims to scale Ethereum without monopolizing its value, utilizing EVM parallelization and privacy measures, which he believes are incompatible with layer 3s.
Layer-3 protocols, built atop L2s, offer various scaling solutions, performance enhancements, interoperability features, and cost efficiency. Prominent players include Orbs, Xai, zkSync Hyperchains, and the newly launched Degen Chain on Arbitrum Orbit. However, the sector remains relatively small, with only four L3 tokens listed on CoinGecko.
Contrasting Boiron's perspective, Peter Haymond from Offchain Labs highlighted the benefits of L3s, such as cost-effective native bridging from L2 and specialized state transition functions.
McCorry was surprised by Boiron's view, emphasizing L3s' benefits like enabling L2 transition into settlement layers and Ethereum's role in global settlement.
Mumtaz echoed Boiron, describing L3s as centralized servers settling on others controlled by multisigs. Buterin proposed L3s in 2022 for unique functionality compared to L2s.