In the past two years, Layer-2 has gradually evolved from an "experimental scaling solution" to an important component of blockchain networks. This transformation is not due to a single technological breakthrough, but rather the maturation of multiple parallel paths and ecological integration. Different technological paths represented by Optimistic Rollup and Zero-Knowledge (zk) Rollup each demonstrate differentiated advantages in performance, compatibility, and developer migration costs: Optimistic solutions emphasize compatibility with Ethereum and smooth migration of existing EVM contracts, while Zero-Knowledge solutions highlight data compression, finality, and privacy attributes.
Progress at the ecological level is also significant. Taking Optimism's OP Stack and its "Superchain" concept as an example, continuous network upgrades aim to enhance cross-chain interoperability and scalability, facilitating closer collaboration among multiple L2s in governance and technology. Meanwhile, several L2 ecosystems such as Arbitrum, Base, and Linea attract application migration and liquidity through portable toolchains and Rollup frameworks, promoting improvements in on-chain transactions and user experience.
From the market and application perspective, the driving force behind Layer-2 mainly comes from three types of demand: reducing user transaction costs, increasing throughput to meet high-frequency scenarios such as gaming and DeFi, and providing institutions with an operating environment closer to compliance and auditing. The appeal of Zero-Knowledge technology in gaming and privacy-sensitive applications is gradually rising, while Optimistic Rollup and highly compatible L2s continue to carry a large volume of DeFi and infrastructure traffic. On-chain user behavior and institutional pilots indicate that L2 is transforming previously fragmented experimental use cases into sustainable network loads.
However, challenges still exist, primarily focused on interoperability, standardization, and regulatory alignment. Interoperability involves not only asset transfer and messaging protocols across L2s but also concerns settlement security and dispute resolution mechanisms; standardization is still primarily led by project teams and communities in the short term, while enterprise-level adoption requires clearer compliance and governance frameworks. In terms of regulation, as the scale of assets and transaction frequency handled by L2 increases, regulatory agencies' focus on transparency, compliance, and potential systemic risks also rises, making the coordination between policy and technology a necessary question.
Finally, the future observation points lie in the "three bridges"—the technical bridge (security, proof, and data availability mechanisms between L2 and L1), the ecological bridge (compatibility of cross-chain tools, wallets, and infrastructure), and the regulatory bridge (compliance standards, auditing, and cross-border regulatory coordination). The long-term success or failure of Layer-2 depends not only on individual performance metrics but also on whether a balance can be found between efficiency, auditability, and institutional regulation. The interactions among policymakers, infrastructure providers, and application developers in the coming years will determine whether Layer-2 becomes a key engine driving the large-scale implementation of blockchain or faces long-term issues of fragmentation and compliance bottlenecks.
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Original: “The Rise of Layer-2: From Scalability to Interoperability, Realities and Challenges of Layer-2”
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