L2 Planet Issue #28
In this Issue of L2 Planet, we focused on the developments regarding L2 Landscape, Fluent, Immutable, L2 Stacks, and Starknet Ecosystem.
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Layer-2 Landscape
The total Value Locked in Layer-2 solutions hits $9.6B with a decrease of 3.04% in the last 7 days.
Arbitrum is the #1 L2 by Total Value Locked (TVL) with $5.30B. OP Mainnet, zkSync, dYdX, and Base follow it respectively.
When we analyze active Ethereum and L2 users, L2 users surpassed 1M users, and Ethereum users ranged between 1-1.5M.
In July 2023, the cumulative L2 transactions past year surpassed the cumulative Ethereum transactions past year!
Total L2 transactions surpassed total Ethereum transactions in Q1 2023 and ranged between 10-15M while Ethereum txs ranged between 7-7.5M.
Fluent
A zkRollup with WASM is cool huh? Meet with Fluent, the zkWASM execution layer for Ethereum.
Fluent currently using zkSNARKs with UltraPlonk and KZG commitments but the team researching a Nova-based stack. Fluent will leverage WebAssembly (WASM) virtual machine which allows developers to build applications in general-purpose programming languages like Rust, Typescript, C/C++, Go, and more. Also, It will be compatible with EVM tools like Metamask. Developers be able to execute and interact with Solidity smart contracts.
The Fluent platform is currently under development, but testnet is right around the corner. They are now taking applicants for our early builders program. Sign up here!
Immutable zkEVM Testnet
As a result of a partnership with Polygon, the Immutable zkEVM testnet is now live!
Unlike Immutable X, Immutable zkEVM is compatible with smart contracts and enables advanced gameplay mechanics, rich economies, and interoperability with the Ethereum ecosystem. In the image below, you can find a comparison between Immutable zkEVM and Immutable X.
In the testnet, $MATIC will be used as the only staking token and Test-IMX will be used as the native gas token. Anyone can deploy a contract permissionless. Learn about more in the Immutable blog.
Comparing Existing L2 Stacks
Do you want to build a Layer-3 and don’t know which Layer-2 Stack you will use? We compared existing Layer-2 Stacks to help you.
We started with Arbitrum Orbit which supports Rollup and Anytrust mode. Arbitrum is the only Optimistic option that supports Fraud Proof. In the Rollup mode, builders are able to customize it to their needs, It has EVM compatibility, permissionless, and high security, but has no native account abstraction and stack popularity is low. In the AnyTrust mode, fees are low because data is stored externally with the Data Availability Committee (DAC). So, the security of the chain is medium compared to Rollup mode. Both Rollup and AnyTrust mode battle-tested for over 1 year.
When we look at the most popular L2 Stack, OP Stack, It has EVM compatibility, fees are low, permissionless, and battle-tested for over 1 year. Builders are free to implement their own logic and choose if data is on-chain or external but there is no active Fraud Proof mechanism and no native account abstraction support. So, the chain security sits to medium.
Starknet Stack is the only Stack that uses ZK technology. Builders can customize their appchains to their requirements. Appchains are secured by STARK proofs, permissionless, and have native account abstraction but EVM compatibility and Stack popularity is low and fees are high.
What is your favorite Layer-2 Stack, anon?
Open-sourcing Stone
StarkWare has announced that they are open-sourcing its Prover, STONE, under an Apache 2.0 license next week.
You may ask why it is important. STONE (STark ONE), has powered over $1 trillion in cumulative transaction volume, 500 million transactions, and minted over 100 million NFTs, all without any failures. By open-sourcing the STONE prover, StarkWare is inviting the community to observe, optimize, and leverage the code primarily for Starknet's benefit.
What else happened in the last two weeks in the Starknet ecosystem?
Starknet Mainnet is now operating on v0.11.2. You can now deploy Cairo 1 contracts on Mainnet
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Spectating Corner
Reading Corner
Rollups are Real — Rollup Economics 2.0, Davide Crapis
Maximizing fault proof modularity with a composable pre-image oracle, protolambda
That’s all from L2 Planet for now, hope to see you in 15 days :)