Ethereum's McDonald's Moment: How Rollups Are Becoming Web3's Franchise Model?
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Ethereum's McDonald's Moment: How Rollups Are Becoming Web3's Franchise Model?
Welcome to the McRollups era.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Alon Muroch
Ethereum Rollups have become the franchise model of Web3 — they are autonomous platforms, strategic products, and programmable economies. In many ways, they embody a modern franchise model: autonomous yet aligned with the brand, interoperable yet built for specific purposes, flexible yet rooted in common standards.
Ethereum as the Franchisor
In this model, Ethereum plays the role of the franchisor, akin to McDonald's headquarters, setting brand standards and core rules while providing infrastructure to ensure scalability. This includes:
✅ Global transaction finality via Ethereum’s validator set
✅ A neutral and trusted settlement layer
✅ Standardized tools: Solidity, EVM, wallets, bridges, RPC
✅ A vast developer ecosystem and trust foundation
Ethereum’s value lies not only in its technology but also in its institutional and cultural dimensions. When a Rollup connects to Layer 1, it inherits Ethereum’s "brand license." Trust from users and builders stems from: Ethereum’s cryptography + community consensus + decentralization values
Rollups as Franchise Outlets
Rollup operators are franchisees, running dedicated "on-chain storefronts" and customizing environments while assuming operational responsibilities.
Building on Ethereum’s credibility, they can:
✅ Customize runtime: EVM, zkVM, WASM, or custom virtual machines
✅ Customize fee structures: 0 Gas experience, fiat-pegged pricing, rebate mechanisms
✅ Governance mechanisms: DAO, multisig, token voting, or social recovery
✅ Modify infrastructure: Choose own sequencers, data availability layers (DA), bridges, proof systems
✅ Extend functionality: Identity layers, privacy precompiles, AI agents, etc.
In short, Rollups are application-specific economies that fully control their execution environment while anchoring to Ethereum for trust and interoperability.
Like McDonald’s… every McDonald’s outlet worldwide maintains a unified identity, yet operates locally. McDonald’s in Rome uses black-gold aesthetics to match ancient architecture; McDonald’s in India offers spicy cheese rolls; in France, you can enjoy espresso and macarons at McDonald’s.
Likewise:
✅ DeFi Rollup: Eliminate gas fees entirely + optimize for high-frequency trading
✅ Gaming Rollup: Use WASM for real-time logic and UX abstraction
✅ Social Rollup: Focus on throughput, on-chain messaging, and identity
These are all “McRollups” — adhering to Ethereum’s standards, settling back to Ethereum’s base layer, and interoperating through shared protocols.
Technical Insight: The application boundary of zkTLS extends beyond “resumé verification”
Rollup as a Product
Operating a Rollup ≠ deploying a smart contract — it’s effectively launching a company, or more precisely, a full-stack SaaS platform:
✅ Manage uptime: Sequencer, data availability (DA), proofs, node liveness
✅ Recruit developers: Build SDKs, write documentation, establish ecosystem funds
✅ Support users: Wallets, block explorers, support workflows, fiat on-ramps
✅ Control the economy: Gas tokens, bridge fees, MEV revenue, governance mechanisms
The most successful Rollup teams treat this as a business — vertically integrated entities (storefront + backend + distribution + monetization engine), composable yet optimized for users.
The Power of Shared Infrastructure
Rollup autonomy is enabled by collaboration within the Ethereum ecosystem:
✅ Standardized bridges → standardized interoperability
✅ Shared sequencing layers (e.g., Superchain, AggLayer, Espresso) → atomic cross-chain interactions
✅ DA networks (e.g., EigenDA, Celestia) → lower costs while maintaining Ethereum consistency
✅ Unified toolchains → developers don’t need to start from scratch
This enables a seamless user experience — if synchronous composability is achieved, accounts, assets, and identities can move across Rollups as easily as within a single chain.
Synchronous Composability: Ethereum’s Strategic Imperative
If Rollups are franchise outlets, then synchronous composability is the logistics, coordination, and communication network that transforms them from isolated branches into a unified global value chain. Without it, Rollups remain powerful but fragmented; with it, they become a tightly connected, interoperable network of programmable economies.
What is Synchronous Composability?
Synchronous composability allows smart contracts on different Rollups to interact within a single transaction context — atomically and deterministically. Simply put:
✅ A contract on Rollup A can call a contract on Rollup B and receive an immediate result
✅ Users can perform cross-chain operations as seamlessly as on a single chain
✅ Developers no longer need to design asynchronous bridges
It turns Rollups into modular components of a unified system, rather than isolated chains stitched together by bridges.
Without Synchronous Composability
❌ Rollups become economic silos
❌ Liquidity fragmentation
❌ Users face cumbersome cross-chain operations
❌ Developers forced into asynchronous workflows
❌ dApps lose atomic logic
This could break Ethereum’s superpower: seamless composability.
With Synchronous Composability
✅ Contracts interact instantly across Rollups
✅ Cross-domain flash loans / DAOs become simple
✅ Liquidity flows freely
✅ Users experience frictionless cross-domain operations
✅ Ethereum feels like a multi-flavor single chain
Synchronous composability not only improves user experience but unlocks entirely new types of decentralized applications that would otherwise be impossible.
How Synchronous Composability Works (Underlying Mechanisms)
See technical deep dive: https://medium.com/@alonmuroch-65570/enabling-cross-chain-synchronous-and-atomic-messages-for-the-op-stack-eaa4e58c1d92
✅ Shared coordination network: Deterministically order transactions across multiple Rollups (e.g., Optimism Superchain, Espresso, Astria)
✅ Shared data availability layer: Rollups publish and consume data from a common source, ensuring visibility across all chains (e.g., EigenDA, Celestia)
✅ Standardized message layer: Secure, verifiable cross-chain messaging with atomicity support
✅ Ethereum settlement: All Rollups ultimately settle on Ethereum, where finality, data validity, and dispute resolution converge
Together, these components create a unified execution context across autonomous Rollups.
Real-World Use Cases
✅ DeFi Arbitrage: Borrow on Rollup A → Trade on Rollup B → Repay (all in one transaction)
✅ Cross-Rollup NFTs: Mint on Chain A → Play in Game on Chain B → Trade on Chain C (completed instantly)
✅ Cross-Domain DAO: Proposal/execution spans multiple Rollups (treasury operations + governance logic)
✅ Unified Entry: Users interact across chains seamlessly
Dangers of Lacking Synchronous Composability: Rollup Centrifugal Risk
As Rollups grow in users, capital, and brand influence, unless Ethereum provides infrastructure that keeps them composable, their incentive to stay aligned with Ethereum will weaken.
Rollup Escape Trajectory
Without synchronous composability, Ethereum risks losing the Rollups it helped launch. As these Rollups mature — accumulating users, liquidity, and developer attention — they become increasingly self-sufficient. Their reliance on Ethereum’s base layer diminishes.
At some point, the following logic becomes compelling:
“If we can’t benefit from shared liquidity or shared execution, why keep paying for Ethereum finality?”
This is the escape path. As more Rollups reach this threshold, they may:
✅ Build full-stack solutions in-house (sequencers/DA/bridges)
✅ Anchor to alternative settlement layers
✅ Prioritize vertical integration
Each Rollup that exits weakens Ethereum’s network effects. Without composability, Ethereum may cease to be Web3’s connective tissue and instead become just another Layer 1, while Rollups evolve into cloud platforms — autonomous, isolated, and increasingly indifferent to Ethereum’s future.
Synchronous Composability = Ethereum’s Economic Defense Layer
Ethereum’s key to retaining Rollups is providing irreplaceable synergistic value:
✅ Shared liquidity → stronger markets
✅ Shared user experience → higher retention
✅ Shared infrastructure → faster development
✅ Shared state → deeper integration
This mirrors Web2 network effects: the more composable Rollups are, the more attractive the entire ecosystem becomes.
Final Thoughts
Ethereum Rollups are more than just Layer 2s. They are franchised economic zones where founders become platform operators and users become citizens of autonomous, interconnected digital nations. They:
✅ Are logically autonomous
✅ Are customizable in user experience
✅ Monetize sequencing and infrastructure
✅ Maintain alignment via Ethereum’s finality and values
This is not just “your app, your chain,” but your chain, market, and economy — riding on Ethereum’s rails.
Welcome to the McRollups era.
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