The Complete Layer 2 Guide - 2022

By: @0xLayerTwo

Aug 06, 2022

First of all, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read the blog in the first couple weeks since we have launched. Your support means the world, and I hope you have found these articles as helpful, and learned as much as I have in writing them.

Due to multiple requests, we have consolidated the entirety of the Layer 2 Guide in one article for you to dive into! For a more complete understanding of The Merge and the Future of Ethereum (a multi-layer rollup-centric future), The Layers of a Blockchain, and a deep dive into the most well recognized scaling solutions currently being worked on, we recommend reading the Articles in the following order:

First:

STAKE N' EGGS

What's at Stake: An Introduction to Consensus Mechanisms and The Merge

If you have been on Crypto Twitter at all this summer, then I am sure you are well aware that it's finally here. The long-awaited event known as “The Merge” has an anticipated date of mid-September. If you are not sure of what that means, the quick summary is that Ethereum is changing from a Proof o…

2 years ago · 3 likes · Stake N' Eggs

Next:

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layers of a Blockchain Ecosystem

They say blockchains are like onions. Onions have layers. Blockchains have layers. The symbiotic relationship between Ethereum and its Layer 2s is mutualistic, meaning the two both benefit from the relationship. Ethereum provides its ever important security to the Layer 2s within its ecosystem, meaning those Layer 2s settle their transactions at the Eth…

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

After these two articles, feel free to read the individual breakdowns at your leisure! There is no set order, however I do go the most in depth on the specific type of rollup (whether optimistic rollup or zk rollups) in the first article that I wrote of their type. For Optimistic Rollups, this is the article on Optimism. For Zk-Rollups, the article on zkSync. All Articles are below!

Optimistic Rollups

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Optimism

During the last bull run, we had DeFi Summer and NFT Summer bring forth excitement and buzz around new technology, and we saw an onboarding of a large amount of new users to the Ethereum Ecosystem (and Crypto as a whole). As we are always looking forward to the horizon, it is hard to not be excited about what we think wi…

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Arbitrum

What is Arbitrum? Created in August 2021 by Offchain Labs by Ed Felten (The former Deputy CTO of the United States and Chief Technologist at the FTC), Steven Goldfeder and Harry Kalodner, Arbitrum is a Layer 2 solution that improves Ethereum smart contracts performance by increasing Ethereum’s transactional throughput through the implementation of rollu…

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Boba Network

BOBA is an optimistic rollup Layer 2 that was was developed by contributors from Artificial Intelligence company Enya and the OMG foundation (a key contributor to the OmiseGo blockchain) to provide a scalable platform for the development of applications that is completely compatible with the Ethereum network and can help developers to …

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Metis

Layer 2 summer is starting to heat up with positive news continuously coming out of the Ethereum Foundation leading up to the Merge. This guide has explored 3 optimistic rollups Optimism, Arbitrum, Boba, but the focus today is on the 4th of the arguable “Big 4” of optimistic rollups, and currently the cheapest rollup, Metis…

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

zk-Rollups

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: zkSync

Welcome back to Stake N’ Eggs. Last week we dove into the projects on the forefront of Optimistic Rollup technology, such as Optimism, Arbitrum, Boba Network, and Metis, but today we explore the other side of rollup technology, zero knowledge rollups. While the Ethereum Layer 1, known as the Consensus Layer, explicitly utilizes on-chain computation to p…

2 years ago · 1 like · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Scroll

The battle for zero knowledge EVM compatibility is currently raging and the once mythical EVM compatible zk-rollup has been achieved by 3: zkSync, Polygon, and Scroll. Scroll is the only one that is claiming to have an EVM-equivalent zk-rollup (after Polygon…

2 years ago · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: zkSpace

Formerly ZKSwap, the team rebranded to ZKSpace to be more all encompassing as they shifted their focus from solely acting as an Automated Market Maker on Layer 2 to a full suite Layer 2 protocol that is comprised of three main parts: ZKSwap (the upgraded AMM), ZKSquare (a payment processing platform), and ZKSea (an NFT marketplace), with an …

2 years ago · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Aztec Network

Privacy is something that is always at the forefront in cryptocurrency conversations. Is privacy needed? Should it be allowed? Does it go against the idea of an open and decentralized future? Whether true privacy is something that is a benefit to the public at large is debatable. What is almost guaranteed is that where privacy is possi…

2 years ago · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Loopring

Established in 2017, Loopring was one of the first Ethereum Layer-2 scaling protocols launched. Loopring is a solution that has multiple facets, acting as a protocol (Loopring Protocol), a decentralized exchange (Loopring Exchange), and a token (LRC). The network can handle up to 1,000 times more trades per second than Ethereum with each one costing far…

2 years ago · Stake N' Eggs

STAKE N' EGGS

The Layer 2 Guide: Starkware

Starkware is an Israel-based company building Layer 2 scaling solutions for the Ethereum ecosystem using zk-STARKs for computational security, technology that was invented by co-founders Eli Ben-Sasson and Michael Riabzev. Additionally, Alessandro Chiesa, another co-founder, is credited with being the first person to theorize zk-SNARKs in 2012…

2 years ago · Stake N' Eggs

Not financial, legal or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. All opinions expressed are solely those of the individual author. This newsletter is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This newsletter does not constitute tax advice. Talk to your independent attorney and/or accountant for any questions specific to you. Always do your own research and use caution when interacting with smart contracts or the blockchain.