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Is Arbitrum the most widely used Ethereum Layer 2? Here is the complete ranking

Layer 2 Ethereum: most used

What are the most widely used Ethereum Layer 2s? Here’s who is winning the race to speed up and reduce transaction costs

What are the most widely used Ethereum Layer 2s? These protocols aim to provide faster and cheaper transactions than the main blockchain. The urgent scalability challenge for the ‘world computer’ is played out in transactions per second (tps) and Total Value Locked (TVL). The first metric measures how many transactions a protocol can handle per second, and the second is the total value of locked cryptocurrencies and, thus, the available liquidity. This value is used to assess a project’s spread. 

Ethereum’s main Layer 2s (excluding Polygon, a real blockchain) differ in the scalability technology used: zero-knowledge rollup, optimistic rollup, Validium, or Plasma. Each determines trade-offs between speed, security, and cost. For example, Arbitrum is considered the best solution for developers, Optimism is the most compatible with Ethereum, and zkSync is unbeatable in terms of security. 

Here is the ranking of the most used Ethereum Layer 2s!

Layer 2 Ethereum: Arbitrum in focus

Arbitrum is at the top of the list of the most used Ethereum Layer 2s, a protocol that uses optimistic rollups. You can find NFT marketplaces, play-to-earn games, and stablecoins in its vast ecosystem. It is also supported by the most important decentralised finance dapps, such as Uniswap, Aave, and Balancer.  

Regarding numbers, Arbitrum has an LTV of $16 billion, can theoretically process a maximum of 1,500 transactions per second, and the commission to send ETH costs $0.05 on average.

Several decentralised applications have sprung up on Arbitrum that have dominated the DeFi landscape since the bear market in 2022, notably GMX and Pendle. The ARB token was distributed via airdrop to users who interacted with the blockchain months before its release.

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Optimism

And continuing to talk about the more popular Layer 2s, another scaling solution is Optimism, which, as its name implies, also exploits optimistic rollups. This protocol is known for being integrated with the mother blockchain, so much so that it is said, ‘if it works on Ethereum, it also works on Optimism but at a fraction of the cost’, and for having open source code available to programmers. Synthetix, one of the most popular trading platforms, is developed on it; the network also promised a series of airdrops for its most active users. 

Optimism’s LTV is $7 billion, it processes about 2,000 tips, and the average commission per transaction is $0.03. 

Base

The blockchain developed by Coinbase, one of the most popular centralised exchanges on the market and the only one listed, has exploded in recent months. The reason? Mainly meme coins. Yes, you got that right. Cryptos born ‘for fun’ have increased the popularity of this Layer 2 incredibly.

The total value locked up within Base is currently USD 5.4 billion; at the beginning of March, it was less than a third!

Blast

The fourth Ethereum Layer 2 for TVL today is Blast, a recently born project that has managed to attract more than USD 2.5 billion in liquidity quickly. This sudden popularity is attributable to the aggressive marketing campaign undertaken in recent months. Blast, in fact, announced an airdrop before the launch of its blockchain, thus attracting all users who wanted to receive that free distribution of tokens.

This Ethereum Layer 2 has not yet released its governance token, which will arrive soon. To increase your chances of receiving it, you can buy ETH on the Young Platform, withdraw funds on the Ethereum network, and use a bridge to reach the network.

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Mantle

Returning to the subject of Ethereum layer 2 whose development is managed by the foundations of decentralised exchanges, we cannot fail to mention Mantle. The fifth scaling solution for Ethereum for TVL, which stands at around USD 1.2 billion, is developed by BitDAO, the autonomous and decentralised organisation launched by ByBit.

Starknet

A Layer 2 of the Starkware Industries ecosystem specialising in cryptography. Starknet runs on zero knowledge rollups and STARK Proof. Its LTV is $63 million, and commissions are $0.09.

zkSync Era

In seventh place in the most used and popular Ethereum Layer 2s ranking is zkSync Era. This protocol is based on zero-knowledge technology and aims to scale Ethereum while maintaining its decentralisation. It has over 500,000 active users and supports all projects on the core network without code changes. 

The TVL of zkSync Era is $521 million, and the fee for transferring ETH is $0.09. 

Manta

Manta is a multi-modular Layer 2 consisting of two networks utilising zero-knowledge rollup technology. Manta’s story began with Atlantic, a fast Layer 1 network built on Polkadot, and continued with Pacific, a highly scalable EVM-compatible Layer 2 network.

Manta Pacific’s LTV is currently $795 million, which is why it ranks eighth among the most used Ethereum Layer 2s.

Line

Linea is a Layer 2 blockchain developed by Consensys, the web3 company that developed the crypto wallet Metamask. This is also why this project has raised huge capital through several funding rounds, some USD 725 million.

Linea’s current LTV is $780 million.

dYdX

The ranking of the most widely used Ethereum Layer 2s continues with dYdX, which, unlike the previous projects, is a truly decentralised exchange with an LTV of 335 million. 

Metis Andromeda 

Metis Andromeda is another Layer 2 compatible Ethereum Virtual Machine, born from a fork of Optimism. This protocol is currently the cheapest, with transaction fees less than $0.01. Its Total Value Locked is 94.26 million.

Loopring 

In sixth place in the ranking of the most used Ethereum Layer 2s is Loopring, an emerging DeFi project based on zero-knowledge cryptography. It processes over 2,000 tps, has a blocked value of 101 million and costs around $0.02 per transaction. 

Immutable X

Known primarily as a decentralised gaming network, Immutable X exploits StarkEx’s Validum technology (zero knowledge) to make play-to-earn faster and cheaper. A total of USD 187 million has been blocked on this Layer 2. 

Polygon zkEVM

The ranking ends with Polygon zkEVM. Perhaps the project par excellence that has spread the ‘zero knowledge’ trend in crypto communities. It is also one of the most recent protocols launched last March 2023. Polygon zkEVM has a blocked value of 38.03 million. The fees for a transaction amount to $0.03. 

Looking at the ranking of the most popular and widely used Ethereum Layer 2s, it is clear that with these numbers, one can already speak of mass adoption. Scalability remains the real goal on which crypto projects are working relentlessly. Among the upcoming releases to watch is Scroll (currently under testnet), especially for possible airdrops.

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Young Platform supports the Ethereum Proof-of-Work (ETHW) airdrop

Young Platform supports the ETHW airdrop

Young Platform supports ETHW’s airdrop. When will it be distributed? Who is entitled to it?

After the activation of Ethereum’s The Merge update, a group of miners performed a hard fork, creating a new blockchain on which mining can continue. This alternative blockchain, called Ethereum Proof-of-Work, has its own new token, ETHW. It will be distributed via airdrop to all those who owned Ether before The Merge.

When will ETHW’s airdrop be released?

Excluding possible delays by the Custody Provider relied upon by Young Platform, which is carrying out checks and monitoring the blockchain created from the hard fork, we expect to airdrop the ETHW tokens over the next 15 days, during which a date will be announced as soon as it is certain. The airdrop will be carried out in a 1:1 ratio, meaning that for every ETH held prior to the activation of The Merge, one ETHW will be released.

There are currently no plans to list the ETHW token. However, the Young Platform team is considering it. A possible listing will be announced with advance notice!

Who can participate in the airdrop?

The distribution of the ETHW token is calculated on the basis of the snapshot taken on  the 15th September 2022 at 06:42 UTC. This corresponds to the time when The Merge update was activated.

To check whether you are entitled to ETHW airdrop on Young Platform, please refer to these three different cases. If on the 15 September 2022, at 06:42 UTC:

1. You had ETHs in your Spot Wallet

You will receive the ETHWs you are entitled to directly in your Spot Wallet.

2. You had ETHs active in your Earning Wallet

If you had not deactivated the Earning Wallet functionality for your ETHs by the 15th of September 2022 06:42 UTC, your right to receive the ETHW airdrop depends on the outcome of the analysis that Young Platform’s Earning Wallet Provider is performing on the new blockchain created from the fork. You will be able to receive ETHW in proportion to your Ether in the Earning Wallet only if the Ethereum Proof-of-Work blockchain is supported by Copper (the Custody Provider) within 30 days after the hard fork. Moreover, the new blockchain must simultaneously meet at least two of the three requirements explained below. 

The three requirements, two of which must be met by the Ethereum Proof-of-Work blockchain, are:

  1. Hash Power: the average hash power mining of ETHW on the 30th day following the occurrence of the Hard Fork (calculated as a 30-day average on such date) is at least 5% of the hash power mining of ETH on the day preceding the Hard Fork (calculated as a 3-day average of the 3 days preceding the Hard Fork).
  2. Market Capitalization: the average market capitalisation of ETHW (defined as the total value of all ETHW) on the 30th day following the occurrence the Hard Fork (calculated as a 30-day average on such date) is at least 5% of the average market capitalisation of ETH, calculated as a 30-day average on such date.
  3. 24-Hour Trading Volume: the average 24-hour trading volume of the ETHW on the 30th day following the occurrence the Hard Fork (calculated as a 30-day average on such date) is at least 1% of the average 24-hour trading volume of ETH (calculated as a 30-day average on such date).

The fulfilment of the requirements and the consequent right to receive the airdrop will be promptly communicated according to the required timeframe for the analyses (approximately one month).

3. You deactivated the Earning Wallet functionality for your ETHs before the 15th of September 2022

If you deactivated the Earning Wallet functionality for your ETHs before the 15th of September 2022 06:42 UTC, but your ETHs were not yet transferred from the Earning Wallet to your Spot Wallet, you are still entitled to the airdrop. You therefore fall under case 1 “You had ETH in your Wallet”.