The Evolution of Ethereum Scaling Solutions: OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, Polygon 2.0...
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The Evolution of Ethereum Scaling Solutions: OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, Polygon 2.0...
Every L2 giant has presented its own solution, but it remains uncertain who will ultimately prevail.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWriter: Stacy Muur
Translation: TechFlow
The L2 war is heating up, with the future of Ethereum scaling expected to revolve around L3s, Superchains, and Hyperchains. How can you keep pace with this emerging trend? Let’s dive into the cutting edge of L2 development.
Why has this landscape evolved this way? While Ethereum operates as an L1, it must achieve internet-scale operational capacity. However, no single L2 currently possesses such capability.
From a broader perspective, Web3 developers today have three main options:
• Deploy on Ethereum, but sacrifice scalability.
• Choose an L2 solution, but face dependency risks tied to specific ecosystems.
• Deploy and maintain their own chain, but risk liquidity fragmentation.
Moreover, achieving interoperability remains a significant challenge. Our efforts using cross-chain bridges have proven fragile and consistently vulnerable to attacks by malicious actors. New challenges demand innovative solutions. New challenges demand innovative solutions.
The next wave of rollups—such as OP Chains on Optimism, L3s on Arbitrum Orbit, or superchains on zkSync—will empower various entities with different goals to create their own customized environments. Think of deploying a new rollup chain as creating a new web page.
Let’s take a closer look at the solutions offered by key scaling players.
Optimism & OP Stack
In October 2022, Optimism introduced:
• OP Stack—a modular, open-source blueprint for building scalable and interoperable blockchains of various types.
• Superchain—a tightly integrated and unified network of L2s built atop the OP Stack.
Simply put, the OP Stack can be seen as a “build-your-L2” supermarket. It offers different layers (modules) that can be easily customized to meet a project’s specific needs.
By leveraging this approach, they aim to unlock the future potential of the Superchain.
In early June, Optimism announced the migration of its L2 rollup to Bedrock. This release marked the first official deployment of the OP Stack, making the OP mainnet the most cost-effective Ethereum L2 rollup for token swaps.
Additionally, Bedrock offers several advantages:
• Reduces deposit time from 10 minutes to 3 minutes.
• Enhances proof modularity by supporting both fault proofs and ZK proofs.
• Allows multiple transactions to be executed within a single rollup “block.”
After completing the Bedrock upgrade, Optimism’s next step is transitioning toward the Superchain.
The Superchain is a decentralized network of L2s (OP Chains) that will share security, a communication layer, and an open-source tech stack (the OP Stack).
What comes next? The Alpha phase begins here.
• Optimism’s L2 rollup chain—the first member of the Superchain.
• Coinbase’s upcoming Base L2—the second member, expected to launch on mainnet later this year.
• Worldcoin has also committed to building on the OP Stack.
• AEVOXYZ, a decentralized options exchange, recently launched an OP Stack-based rollup in collaboration with Conduit.
• opBNB on BNB Chain also leverages the OP Stack.
• Zora Network, developed by OurZORA, is an L2 solution built on the OP Stack.
Arbitrum Orbit
Arbitrum is currently the largest and most dominant L2 network by TVL (Total Value Locked), with over $5.9 billion in value locked, capturing more than 60% of the market share.
Arbitrum offers four core products:
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Arbitrum One: The first mainnet rollup of the Arbitrum ecosystem.
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Arbitrum Nova: An AnyTrust solution designed for projects expecting high transaction volumes and cost sensitivity.
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Arbitrum Nitro: The technical software stack powering Arbitrum L2, making rollups faster, cheaper, and more EVM-compatible.
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Arbitrum Orbit: A development framework enabling the creation and deployment of L3s on the Arbitrum mainnet.
L3 rollups, also known as app chains, play a crucial role in settling transactions back to the Arbitrum chain. They form the foundation of Arbitrum’s next stage of scaling and are central to realizing their vision.
Arbitrum places strong emphasis on customizability. Orbit is designed to be compatible with the upcoming Arbitrum Stylus upgrade, which will allow developers to build dApps using C, C++, and Rust—expanding Arbitrum’s versatility and reach.
zkSync & Hyperchain
Now, let’s turn to zkSync and its vision for the future of Ethereum scaling.
Hyperchains represent zkSync’s concept of L3s, envisioned as a vast ecosystem of trustless and customizable interconnected blockchains.
Simply put, Hyperchains refer to independent ZK chains on Ethereum. These chains are interconnected via a network of customizable, fully trustless super-bridges. This approach helps overcome vulnerabilities commonly associated with non-native bridges.
StarkWare & Fractal Scaling
In theory, the system could support an infinite number of Hyperchains representing the whole. This is precisely what StarkWare, as a pioneer of Fractal Scaling, aims to achieve.
In summary, StarkWare’s multi-layered network paper proposes L2s for general-purpose scaling and L3s for customized scaling. However, beyond the initial publication of this paper, StarkWare has not made any further announcements.
Polygon 2.0
In early June, Polygon released an update on the next phase of its L2 development. Polygon 2.0 aims to create a “value layer for the internet.”
The solution intends to enhance interoperability among Polygon zkEVM, PoS, and Supernets through a series of upgrades. By combining zero-knowledge technology with the existing PoS mechanism, Polygon aims to strengthen security and privacy protection.
With Polygon 2.0, their goal is to combine the strengths of both technologies. A recent announcement from the Polygon team revealed plans to transition Polygon PoS into a zkEVM validium by the end of Q1 2024.
Overall, the evolution of Ethereum scaling solutions is a topic worth closely watching in the coming months. Each L2 giant is offering its own approach, but ultimately, the winner remains uncertain.
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