Comprehensive Data Comparison: Who Will Be the Rising Star of the Layer 2 Race?

This year can be called a big year for Layer 2 (mainly referring to rollups), with nearly ten Layer 2 networks launching their mainnets. On March 24, zkSync era went live. Polygon zkevm’s mainnet beta was launched on March 27. Mantle announced the start of its mainnet Alpha version on July 17. Linea was launched on July 18, followed by Base’s mainnet in August. On September 12, Manta launched its Layer 2 mainnet Pacific, and Scroll’s mainnet went live on October 10. It is evident that Layer 2 is rapidly developing, with both Optimistic rollups and ZK rollups, which we once thought distant, emerging at an explosive pace. It’s noteworthy that it’s just over half a year since the Arb airdrop.

The original vision of Layer 2 technology was to address Ethereum’s scalability needs, enhancing transaction throughput while relying on Ethereum to maintain decentralization and security. This technology aims to provide users with a better experience, significantly lower fees than the mainnet, and reduced latency and congestion.

This article aims to help readers understand the landscape and characteristics of the Layer 2 competition through a comparison of on-chain data.

Layer 2 Overview

（Source: https://defillama.com/chains/Rollup）

According to DeFiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) in Layer2 rollups is currently about $3.4 billion. Arbitrum leads the pack with a TVL of $2.06 billion, accounting for 60.62% of the market. Following it is Optimism, which holds 21.41% of the market share.

Arbitrum and Optimism have the first-mover advantage in the Layer2 space, being among the earliest mainnets to launch. Combined, these two occupy over 80% of the market share.

Other networks with a TVL exceeding $100 million include Base and zkSync era, while the TVL of the remaining public chains is less than $100 million.

（Source: https://defillama.com/chains/Rollup）

Observing with a time scale perspective, since the beginning of this year, the diversity in the Layer2 market has significantly increased. Taking January as a baseline, Arbitrum’s market share has consistently hovered around 60%, unaffected by newcomers. Meanwhile, Optimism’s share has slipped from 32% to 21%.

Author’s note: There is a considerable difference between DeFiLlama’s data and L2BeatsTVL’s data. For instance, L2Beats reports Arbitrum at $7.52 billion, which is more than triple DeFiLlama’s report of $2.06 billion. This discrepancy is due to the different statistical methods used by the two platforms. L2Beats counts cross-chain value, meaning how much money has been bridged over to the target chain; whereas DeFiLlama counts the total locked value across various dApps on the target chain.

To put it simply, the difference of $5 billion is not being used in any dApp on Arbitrum (it might be stored in wallets) and, at least, is not accounted for in the dApps tracked by DeFiLlama.

Arbitrum

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Arbitrum?users=false&txs=true&tvl=true)

Arbitrum currently has a cumulative total of over 14.29 million unique addresses and has conducted more than 418.45 million transactions, with a TPS (transactions per second) of 6.3. The chain’s activity peaked during the March airdrop, with daily transactions exceeding 3 million. Following the airdrop, the chain has maintained a good level of activity and has not been affected by this year’s market downturn.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Arbitrum?users=true)

As for the ecosystem, Arbitrum hosts several flagship projects. For example, GMX, which accounts for 23% of the Total Value Locked (TVL), the native DEX+LaunchPad project Camelot, and the blockchain gaming platform TreasureDAO, among others. Additionally, there are numerous projects that have migrated from the mainnet. The DeFi ecosystem is comprehensive and innovative, contributing to a rich overall ecosystem. As a result, user retention is quite strong, with nearly three-quarters of daily active users being returning visitors.

Optimism

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Optimism?txs=true)

Optimism has seen significant activity with 57.66 million unique addresses executing 177 million transactions, achieving a Transaction Per Second (TPS) rate of 4.6. Following the airdrop in June last year, the activity level of OP (Optimism’s native token) has continued to show robust growth. The native flagship project, Velodrome, currently boasts a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $145 million. The majority of the remaining TVL is supported by Synthetix and its ecosystem’s DeFi projects, such as Lyra and Thales.

(Source: https://www.theblockbeats.info/news/44039)

After undergoing the bedrock upgrade and launching the modular blockchain framework OP Stack, Optimism has clearly carved out its own path by proposing a vision of a ‘superchain’. OP Stack allows developers to customize their own Layer 2 networks by selecting and assembling various components such as the execution layer and Data Availability (DA) layer, tailored to their specific scenarios and needs, thereby reducing the complexity of launching new blockchains. Adopters of OP Stack include Coinbase’s Base, BitDAO’s Mantle, BN’s opBNB, and Zora, which focuses on NFTs, among others. Chains using OP Stack also contribute back to Optimism to some extent; for example, Base allocates a portion of its revenue to the OP treasury. By embodying the grand vision of a superchain, OP has tactically bound the projects launched using OP Stack to its ecosystem, achieving mutual prosperity.

Base

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Base?txs=true)

Base, introduced by Coinbase and built on the OP Stack, is a Layer 2 solution currently boasting 2.4 million users and 67 million transactions, with a TPS of 3.8. Base’s focus is primarily on the phenomenal dApp, FriendTech. In the past 30 days, FriendTech generated $5.4 million in protocol fees, while Base’s revenue was approximately $1.32 million. At the peak of SocialFi’s popularity, FriendTech’s protocol revenue was second only to Ethereum and Lido. Apart from FriendTech, Base’s notable native project is Aerodrome, a fork of Velodrome on OP, currently with a TVL of $55.53 million, ranking first.

Mantle

(Source: https://explorer.mantle.xyz/)

Mantle, designed based on the Optimism OVM architecture, is a Layer 2 solution that adopts a modular design, significantly reducing the cost of rollups through the use of EigenDA as a data availability layer. Mantle currently has 820,000 addresses and has processed 21 million transactions.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Mantle)

Among the leading projects on Mantle TVL are several native DEXs such as Agni and FusionX. Mantle boasts substantial financial backing, with its treasury exceeding $2 billion in value, including over 220,000 ETH, giving it an advantage in deposit size and liquidity. This solid foundation supports its LSD track projects.

zkSync Era

(Source: https://dune.com/matter_labs/zksync-era-overview)

zkSync, developed by the MatterLabs team, is a leading project in the zk series. Version 1.0, Lite, supported only token payment scenarios, while version 2.0, the era, is an EVM-compatible general-purpose mainnet with over 4.67 million unique addresses.
Originally using the zkSNARK algorithm, zkSync announced on July 17 the introduction of a new proof system, Boojum, transitioning from zkSNARK to zkSTARK.

(Source: https://dune.com/matter_labs/zksync-era-overview)

Following the Arb airdrop, zkSync Era saw significant enthusiasm and expectations, accumulating 4.6 million unique addresses and 165 million transactions in just over half a year. zkSync, featuring native account abstraction without needing ERC4337, has seen few leading projects migrate, like Uniswap and AAVE, providing opportunities for native and new projects like SyncSwap, Mute, and Maverick, mainly focusing on DeFi.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/zkSync%20Era)

Scroll

(Source: https://blockscout.scroll.io/)

Scroll, a zkevm project heralded as the pride of the Chinese community, announced its mainnet launch on October 10. In just a few weeks, its TVL reached $17 million, with over 2 million addresses completing 4.7 million transactions. Before the mainnet announcement, there were widespread hints on Twitter about Scroll, with many projects and KOLs involved, creating a highly anticipated atmosphere. Within a week, Layer0 announced support for the Scroll mainnet, Orbiter supported USDT and USDC cross-chain for Scroll, OKX Wallet integrated Scroll, and NFTScan supported the Scroll mainnet. During its testnet phase, over 100 projects were deployed on Scroll, covering various tracks. The mainnet currently hosts over 30 projects, similar to zkSync, with a balance between multi-chain and native projects.

(Source: https://scroll.io/ecosystem)

Starknet

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Starknet)

Starknet, using the zk-Stark proof method, is a general-purpose public chain running Cairo-VM instead of the EVM compatibility pursued by most Layer 2 solutions. Starknet only has native AA accounts, with no EOA concept, and has deployed over 2.9 million accounts. The use of Cairo as its contract language, rather than the more familiar Solidity, poses technical challenges for project migration. Starknet recently rebooted its mainnet with the major update of Cairo1.0, steadily increasing its TVL to over $40 million. However, its TVL saw a rapid decline after the Israel-Palestine conflict (StarWare’s headquarters are in Israel) but has since stabilized at $30 million. Leading TVL projects on Starknet are older projects deployed during the Beta mainnet phase, like JediSwap and mySwap. A notable project is Ekubo, ranking fifth in TVL but accounting for 75% of Starknet’s total transaction volume. Recently, UniSwap DAO passed a proposal to provide approximately $12 million worth of 3 million UNI to support Ekubo’s development in exchange for 20% of Ekubo’s token shares.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Starknet)

Manta Pacific

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Manta)

Manta Pacific is a zk (zero-knowledge) universal Layer 2 solution launched by Manta, which plans to use Celestia as the data availability layer in the future to significantly reduce user interaction costs. Since its launch in September this year, its Total Value Locked (TVL) reached $18.59M within two months, with 166k unique addresses and 2.16M transactions completed. Initially, Manta considered adopting the OP Stack solution but later shifted to Polygon’s CDK, becoming a part of the Polygon ecosystem. More than 300,000 zkSBTs have been minted on Manta’s NPO website, and the wallet has been installed over 200,000 times.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Manta)

Aperture Finance is a leading liquidity management platform in the industry, featuring an “Intent-based” architecture that allows users to automate strategies comprehensively. Its project, ApertureSwap, is a native DEX on Manta, similar to UniV3 in allowing users to provide concentrated liquidity, currently ranking second with a TVL of $4.95M.

Linea

Linea is a zkevm Layer 2 solution launched by ConsenSys, the parent company of MetaMask. As one of the most important infrastructures in blockchain, MetaMask has 30 million active users monthly, all of whom could potentially become Linea users. The strong background of its founding team, investors, and a valuation of $7 billion make Linea a highly sought-after Layer 2 solution. In less than half a year since its launch, it has accumulated 1.68M unique addresses and 18.36M transactions.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Linea?volume=true&tvl=true)

Currently, Linea’s TVL has exceeded $27M, with the first and fourth-ranked SycnSwap and Velocore, both native DEXs on zkSync, migrating to Linea.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Linea?volume=true&tvl=true)

Comparative Analysis

The basic data of each Layer2 is summarized in the following table:

(TVL data from DeFiLlama, TPS from L2Beats as of November 17, and other data from respective blockchain explorers. For cross-chain data from Ethereum mainnet to various Layer 2s, Chaineye’s data dashboard provides data and time-based comparisons:

(Source: https://chaineye.tools/)

Summary

It was often said that “fat protocols, thin applications” meant that most blockchain value was captured by the protocol layer, with only a small portion at the application layer. However, with the continuous improvement of infrastructure and the emergence of various Layer 2 blockchains, there’s a feeling of protocol redundancy and a lack of applications. The liquidity in a bear market is limited, and this liquidity is further fragmented across different Layer 2s due to their arms race. Every chain hopes to incubate native innovative applications, but breakthrough moments are rare, and often, there are just multi-chain forks of one successful project.

The emergence of FriendTech brought significant attention, funds, and users to the Base chain, as seen by the surge in TVL alongside the popularity of FT. Base has stated it will not issue its token, suggesting that a low proportion of chain users interact for the sake of Base airdrops, with most users and funds attracted by the phenomenal application of FT. The impact of a killer app on a public chain is evident. When users profit from such dApps, the funds are likely to spill over to other projects in the ecosystem, benefiting the entire public chain. Moreover, the protocol revenue of FT is much higher than that of the Base public chain, sometimes by more than five times. This not only sparked a SocialFi trend but also made us reconsider whether consumer applications have become scarce due to the maturity of infrastructure.

Future applications don’t need to revolve around cash-rich public chains, similar to the explosion of DeFi on Ethereum due to substantial capital accumulation. Mature Layer 2 solutions and accompanying cross-chain infrastructure can meet the needs for seamless fund transfer, allowing the pursuit of quality applications. The future might shift from “thin applications” to “fat applications.”

(Source: https://defillama.com/protocol/friend.tech?fees=true&tvl=false)

This is why, after the explosion of FT, every public chain has been trying to support its SocialFi projects, like Linea’s TOMO and Avalanche’s SA, regardless of their eventual success. From the attitude of public chains, the desire for native star projects is evident.

(Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Base)

For Layer2 networks, attracting and retaining users, as well as keeping funds active, cannot rely solely on airdrop-based PUA (Pick-Up Artist) strategies. Taking the two most mature Layer2 networks as examples, Optimism and Arbitrum, their on-chain user activity and transaction volumes did not diminish after the conclusion of their airdrops. Instead, they have grown even stronger. They each have their native star projects, such as GMX on Arbitrum and Velo on Optimism.

These blockchains continue to launch incentive programs, such as Arbitrum’s short-term incentive project STIP and Optimism’s successive rounds of retroactive incentives. Maintaining the long-term vitality of a public blockchain is a highly challenging and complex task. It requires diligent planning and execution by the blockchain project teams and the participation of more developers and capital.

From a higher strategic perspective, what truly propels a Layer2 network to stand out is the narrative aspect. For example, Optimism’s promotion of the “Superchain” narrative and its open-source, modular solution, OP Stack, aims to create a more dazzling galaxy in Ethereum’s Layer2 ecosystem than Cosmos, garnering a host of supporters. Similarly, Polygon has launched the zk modular blockchain solution Chain Development Kit (CDK), adopted by Polygon zkEVM, Manta, Canto, and others. Arbitrum announced the Layer3 blockchain Arbitrum Orbit’s launch tools, followed by zkSync’s release of the open-source toolkit ZK Stack to support Layer3 construction. Starknet is fully dedicated to full-chain gaming; Zora focuses on NFT and rebate economies.

Each chain is driving new narratives from various angles. As Layer2 networks become more established, Layer2 itself has become less of a narrative for speculation. In summary, the competition among Layer2 networks is always beneficial for users. While enjoying the security of the Ethereum network, they can also benefit from lower transaction fees. The maturity of these infrastructures makes large-scale applications possible. Let us look forward to the future of Layer2!

Disclaimer：

1. This article is reprinted from [Biteye]. All copyrights belong to the original author [Louis Wang]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and they will handle it promptly.
2. Liability Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.
3. Translations of the article into other languages are done by the Gate Learn team. Unless mentioned, copying, distributing, or plagiarizing the translated articles is prohibited.