L2 guide: which ecosystems stand out (Arbitrum, Scroll, Polygon zkEVM, zkSync)
Thread891 words127 likes
Assesses leading L2 ecosystems by tech, decentralization and growth drivers, with Arbitrum (Orbit, Stylus), Scroll (type 2 zkEVM), Polygon (plonky3, interop layer) and zkSync (Boojum, ZK Stack, zkPorter). Holds zk as the endgame.
Key claims
A few general-purpose L2 ecosystems will succeed in the modular stack
zk is the endgame due to security and interop advantages
Boojum could let zkSync close the gap to Polygon on proof efficiency
0/ L2 wars are heating up as we're heading into a cycle that shapes up to become a true #L2 Mania 馃殌
so you don't lose sight of this dynamic space I have researched all major #L2s & have identified the most promising ecosystems for you 馃摎馃攳
most comprehensive L2 guide馃У (0/64)
1/ competition in the #L2 wars will be fierce. However, I think we will need a couple of general-purpose execution layers in the modular infrastructure stack of tomorrow, so I think there will be a couple of ecosystems that will succeed
2/ think there are a few that stand out though
disclaimer: list contains optimistic rollups as well, but I do generally believe #zk is the endgame due to security and interop advantages (which is why many ORs will integrate zk tech)
馃憞馃憞馃憞
3/ 馃殌 @arbitrum
biggest #DeFi ecosystem on L2. Not entirely decentralized as only whitelisted validators can submit fraud proofs and the sequencer is centralized. But overall pretty good UX and some cool dApps (#GMX, #Camelot)
4/ if you are shocked to hear about the centralized sequencer and want to know more about the risks that come with that, plus want to understand the benefits of decentralized/shared sequencers, check my thread below 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1682359858119741443?s=46
5/ but back to @arbitrum, which have consistently been shipping strong tech & continue to do so. #Orbit is cool & I think we鈥檒l see a growing number of larger #DeFi apps transition into app-specific #L3 chains as well as gaming apps that might opt for #Arbitrum Anytrust solutions
6/ for more on #Anytrust, check my thread below 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1535109516747935745?s=46
7/ they are also building out #Stylus VM, which supports #WASM. This will allow devs to code in a variety of languages, including C, C++ and Rust or in the future basically anything that can be compiled to WebAssembly.
8/ for more on Stylus, check my thread below 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1638593894630948865?s=46
9/ this will lower barriers of entry for devs and could drive ecosystem growth significantly.
10/ 馃殌 @Scroll_ZKP
byte-code level (type 2) #EVM equivalent #zkEVM that will enable a very seamless transition from #Ethereum L1. Supported by and highly aligned with the #Ethereum foundation as well
11/ I expect #Ethereum #DeFi blue-chips to be on there rather quickly. Also, a potential airdrop hype can be a strong growth driver
12/ think it to be fast & cheap as well, as it uses a quite performant proof system (Halo2). Not sure about the scaling strategy beyond the Scroll mainnet #L2 (plans for L3s?). But I definitely expect @Scroll_ZKP to become a lively ecosystem
13/ they also have a top-notch research team and are pioneering on many fronts, including prover decentralization 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1641832757985943552?s=46
14/ 馃殌 @0xPolygon #zkEVM
quite strong from a tech perspective in my opinion. Think #plonky3 will once again be the most performant proof system and might give it an edge on the cost side (paired with improved compression)
15/ for more on #plonky3 (and the current plonky2 system) have a look here 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1678788769141649408?s=46
16/ not entirely a type 2 #zkEVM as they use a set of micro-opcodes but definitely more equivalent and dev friendly than @zkSync for example
17/ you can find a more granular breakdown of the differenz #zkEVM approaches here 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1569717615282782209?s=46
18/ could also benefit from the already existing @0xPolygon ecosystem & network. #PolygonStack to build out (app-specific) supernets that are based on the #zkEVM codebase is also quite big imo
19/ I covered @0xPolygon's #zkEVM tech in depth here 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1639322773872070656?s=46
20/ especially the aggregation/interoperability layer is cool that aggregates the validity proofs generated across the chains and settles them on L1 in aggregate
21/ the $POL token will be used for security within the overall Polygon 2.0 ecosystem. Lesrn more here 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1679777381198991361?s=46
22/ this makes #L2 supernets seamlessly interoperable, cost competitive with #L3s on other L2s and lets the rollups have a native bridge to L1
23/ plus there will be a decentralized and at least within the #Polygon ecosystem also shared sequencer solution that enables atomic composability across #supernets
24/ 馃殌 @zksync
Type 3 zkEVM with lower #EVM equivalence in favor of scalability. Hasn鈥檛 entirely played out as #Polygon #zkEVM鈥檚 more efficient proof system has kept them on par while providing better DevEx. But with Boojum, zksync is set to close the gap & maybe gain an edge
25/ for a comparison of the different proof systems used by major #zk-rollups (pre-Boojum) have a look here 馃憞
x.com/expctchaos/status/1679128596546297856?s=46
26/ for more info on #Boojum specifically, check here 馃憞
x.com/zksync/status/1680820952991408129?s=46
27/ but what I find especially cool is the #ZKStack that will enable devs to build (app-specific) hypechains on #L3 that will have cheap & secure interoperability, while providing a more flexible tech stack than what for example #Optimism offers with the #OP stack
28/ the flexibility argument has just recently been made by @gluk64 馃憞
x.com/gluk64/status/1683964193291087872?s=46
29/ additionally, the fact that @zkSync is a volition, which means that users can choose the DA option and opt for a solution where data is not posted to #Ethereum but rather off-chain, which heavily decreases cost (>90%))...
30/ ...while users are still able to interact with all dApps seamlessly through #zkPorter accounts. Could be a big adoption driver. Finally, airdrop mania has driven user adoption & TVL quite significantly. Not too familiar with the #DeFi ecosystem though
1 more image on X