Layer2 Ecosystem Welcomes New Opportunities

Recently, the Arbitrum airdrop has sparked a wave in the entire Layer2 ecosystem, bringing new vitality to the market. This article will analyze the current state of the Layer2 ecosystem and its future development trends.

Arbitrum Airdrop Sparks Ecological Carnival

The Arbitrum airdrop brought significant wealth effects to over 620,000 addresses, with an average of approximately $24,000 worth of tokens received by each address. This directly propelled the TVL of Arbitrum One to rapidly rise to $2.25 billion, accounting for 66.86% of the entire Layer 2 ecosystem. During the week of the airdrop, the number of active users on Arbitrum reached 1.38 million.

Some interesting phenomena occurred after the airdrop:

1. The airdrop rules failed to effectively filter out witch addresses, resulting in certain individuals and groups obtaining substantial profits.

2. A large number of users are flocking to other Layer 2 projects that have not yet issued tokens for interaction, especially zkSync and StarkNet.

3. Testnet projects are also gaining attention, as Goerli ETH test tokens have started to have a price.

4. Layer2 interactions are frequent, driving up Ethereum gas fees.

5. Chinese users are highly enthusiastic about airdrops, ranking first in Google Trends.

However, after the token issuance, the market value of the Arbitrum ecosystem has declined, and on-chain activity has reverted to levels seen before the token launch. This indicates that the current industry is still in a bear market, and after the favorable effects of the token issuance have worn off, funds have started to shift again.

Current Development Status of Layer2 Ecosystem

zkSync Era

zkSync Era is the 2.0 version of zkSync, which opened its mainnet to users on March 24. Currently, its TVL reaches 42.86 million USD, with over 240,000 unique addresses, and 58,500 ETH have crossed the chain.

The zkSync Era ecosystem has 34 projects launched, including DEX, cross-chain bridges, NFTs, etc., but there are relatively few innovative projects. Users can interact with the ecosystem through the official cross-chain bridge, DEX, and by participating in lending.

StarkNet

StarkNet is another highly regarded Layer 2 project developed by StarkWare. Its native token $STRK was deployed on the Ethereum mainnet last November, but the allocation plan has not yet been announced.

The StarkNet ecosystem has over 50 projects launched, covering multiple fields such as DeFi, NFTs, and games. Compared to zkSync, StarkNet's ecosystem is more diverse and mature.

other emerging Layer 2 projects

In addition to zkSync and StarkNet, there are several emerging Layer 2 projects worth paying attention to:

• Scroll: Currently in the alpha testnet phase, with 1 million users and 16 million transactions achieved.

• Base: Developed by Coinbase, based on OP Stack technology, the testnet is now open.

• Linea: The zkEVM project developed by ConsenSys has launched its testnet.

These projects are actively developing ecosystems to provide users with more opportunities to participate.

Development of Layer 2 Networks for BTC

The Bitcoin ecosystem is also exploring second-layer network solutions. In addition to the Lightning Network, projects such as Stacks, RSK, and Liquid have emerged, attempting to bring richer application scenarios to Bitcoin.

However, the development of Bitcoin's second layer still faces challenges, and there is still a gap in application diversity and user experience compared to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Conclusion

The airdrop of Arbitrum has sparked a new wave of Layer 2 enthusiasm, but the market is still in a bear phase. The real Layer 2 summer may have to wait until 2024, when the Ethereum upgrade is completed and on-chain applications are more mature, which could become the starting point for the next bull market.