The demand for faster and cheaper transactions on Ethereum has led to the rise of various Layer 2 solutions, which are scaling platforms that operate on top of the main Ethereum network.
According to a recent report by CoinGecko, some of these Layer 2 solutions have seen explosive growth in users and transactions in the past few months. One of the most notable examples is Base, a Layer 2 network launched by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US.
CoinGecko Published an In-Depth L2 Analysis
Base claims to offer near-instant and zero-fee transactions for Ethereum-based tokens and applications. Since its official launch on August 9, Base has attracted over 1 million unique addresses in just 11 days, surpassing Ethereum’s daily transaction volume.
Another Layer 2 solution that has gained popularity is Arbitrum, which uses a technique called optimistic rollups to process transactions off-chain and periodically submit them to Ethereum.
Arbitrum went live on August 31, 2021, and has since reached over 11 million unique addresses, making it the most widely used Layer 2 platform. Arbitrum also boasts the highest number of daily active users among all Layer 2 solutions.
Other Layer 2 platforms that have achieved impressive milestones include Optimism and zkSync. Optimism, which also uses optimistic rollups, launched on January 16, 2022, and has amassed over 8 million unique addresses in less than a year.
However, Optimism’s price performance has been lackluster, as only 29.27% of its addresses were in profit as of Q2 of 2023. zkSync, on the other hand, uses a different scaling technique called zero-knowledge proofs, which allow transactions to be verified without revealing their details.
zkSync reached 1 million unique addresses in just 71 days after its launch and has generated a lot of buzz among users who are anticipating a potential token airdrop from the platform.
These Layer 2 solutions are not only competing with each other but also with other blockchain networks that offer faster and cheaper transactions than Ethereum.
However, as Ethereum remains the most popular and secure platform for decentralized applications, Layer 2 solutions may have an edge over their rivals in attracting more users and developers who want to enjoy the best of both worlds.
