Layer-3s are the future of scalability
Because the blockchain ecosystem grows, so does the demand for versatile, customizable tech.
Scalability is about making expertise extra accessible to Web3 builders and customers. If builders can construct scalable functions, they’ll attain extra customers with out rising their prices considerably or needing to multiply their sources. For these wishing to bootstrap a sequence with restricted sources, layer-3s may function a promising alternative.
By slicing down on overhead operational and onboarding prices, layer-3s are shortly turning into an necessary piece of the blockchain ecosystem to provide builders larger flexibility and progress alternatives.
When layer-3s began trending, they had been met with preliminary skepticism. Constructing on prime of a layer-2 may add complexity and pointless fragmentation, and including extra layers may make the ecosystem of apps more difficult to navigate, resulting in an absence of interoperability.
However as extra use circumstances emerge, the clearer it turns into: Layer-3s can decrease boundaries to entry for brand spanking new chains and decrease onboarding prices for customers with minimal safety tradeoffs.
The accessibility of layer-3s
Knowledge availability prices proceed to drop with will increase in blob measurement and various knowledge availability layers. The associated fee to function a sequence then more and more turns into the associated fee to submit knowledge commitments and state roots for withdrawals.
The mounted overhead price to function a layer-3 is thus considerably lower than the mounted overhead price to function a layer-2. Submitting knowledge commitments and output roots to a layer-2 is considerably inexpensive than the associated fee to submit those self same transactions to Ethereum Mainnet.
Moreover, when a layer-2 chain is newly launched, depositing tokens into that chain as a brand new person will be costly. It requires each buying tokens on the layer-1 after which depositing these tokens from layer-1 to layer-2 — a complete of two layer-1 transactions. Throughout Ethereum Mainnet charge spikes, we’ve seen these transactions get prohibitively costly for brand spanking new customers. With a layer-3, onboarding for a brand new person will solely be two layer-2 transactions, which is a small fraction of the associated fee.
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This presents utility builders and chain operators with new, less expensive choices to bootstrap utilization and onboard new customers.
We’re already seeing this development with Base for example; the chain has pushed outsized demand and has expanded assist for layer-3s constructing on prime of it.
The complete blockchain ecosystem can profit from layer-2’s dedication to the burgeoning layer-3 ecosystem, with much more builders capable of leverage the ability of layer-2 tech stacks.
Key options fueling the rise of layer-3s
From my vantage level, demand for layer-3s is surging and two options have shortly change into essentially the most extremely requested.
The primary is customized gasoline tokens, which permit builders to make use of a layer-2 token because the native gasoline token for a layer-3. Customized gasoline tokens are nice for neighborhood growth — if there’s an present neighborhood rallied round a layer-2 token, utilizing it because the native token to pay for gasoline is a concrete subsequent step in the direction of constructing an ecosystem. Customized gasoline tokens can allow new use circumstances like in-game currencies for gaming ecosystem chains and token grants which immediately subsidize developer and person charges
The second sought-after characteristic is various knowledge availability, or alt-DA. This offers builders the choice to pick the DA layer of their selecting, vastly lowering transaction prices with the aim of minimizing safety tradeoffs.
Combining a layer-3 with alt-DA can provide builders low overhead prices to submit to the layer-2. That is along with sustainably low knowledge availability prices, all including as much as the most affordable doable deployment of a layer-2 tech stack.
As layer-3s acquire momentum, I anticipate many of those chains to launch with each customized gasoline tokens and alt-DA.
Powering the layer-3 future
Builders have extra choices than ever earlier than, and it’s “select your individual journey” in the case of deploying a layer-2 or layer-3. All have their execs and cons, and there’s room for all to succeed.
Whereas deploying a normal configuration, layer-2s will at all times be essentially the most battle-tested, ahead appropriate option to launch a sequence. Nonetheless, layer-3s enhance the accessibility of launching a brand new chain with extremely low price. I see key options like customized gasoline tokens and alt-DA as necessary to the expansion and adoption of layer-3s, that are in flip necessary for driving innovation ahead with a shared imaginative and prescient for scaling Web3.
Kevin Ho is a co-founder of Optimism and a member of the product workforce at OP Labs, the place he oversees protocol growth and contributes to the Optimism Collective. OP Labs’ mission is to speed up adoption of Ethereum with essentially the most safe, decentralized open supply tech stack, the OP Stack. OP Labs additionally offers sources and assist to the developer neighborhood constructing and deploying on the Superchain.
