Author: Zeeve

Translation: Plain Language Blockchain

Before developing advanced L2 scaling solutions such as sidechains, application chains, and L2 Rollup, L1 blockchain is the best solution for enterprises to build independent and customized blockchain networks. Now, with the increasing popularity of Rollup, the landscape of Web3 is shifting towards it. Many L1 blockchains are moving towards L2 Rollup without compromising sovereignty, scalability, or modularity, especially witnessed in projects with limited attractiveness in their ecosystems.

This article delves into the realm of these L1 blockchains, revealing the challenges faced in managing L1 blockchains and unlocking the advantages of migrating from L1 to L2 Rollup. Additionally, we explore recent cases of L1 blockchains that have transitioned to L2 Rollup.

1. What challenges do medium/low-attractiveness L1 blockchains typically face?

1) High infrastructure and operational costs:

Ensuring the availability and performance of blockchain networks requires the preparation and maintenance of highly optimized enterprise-level infrastructure. For L1 blockchains with limited attractiveness, managing such powerful infrastructure is both complex and costly.

2) Validator set aggregation and expansion:

Initiating new validator sets, ensuring decentralization, and organizing the entire process of validators staking coins or receiving compensation is a daunting task. This becomes particularly complex and expensive for L1 blockchains that have not fully matured into a broader ecosystem, such as Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Cardano, etc.

3) Maintaining Ethereum compatibility:

Ethereum compatibility is crucial, but not all blockchains are naturally compatible with L1 Ethereum. Achieving this compatibility often requires additional integration, which is a complex and unsustainable task for less mature or emerging first-layer blockchains due to their limited resources.

4) Maintaining reliable security and decentralization:

Independently ensuring strong security and decentralization for sovereign first-layer blockchains built from scratch involves complexity and costs related to validator selection, consensus mechanism implementation, auditing, and encryption.

5) Limited technical/DevOps resource access:

Like other blockchains, first-layer blockchains also require independent developer resources and technical support teams. Building these resources from scratch is not a feasible option for emerging first-layer blockchains, highlighting the need for DevOps support from established blockchains.

6) Optimizing ecosystems for specific applications/industries:

Customizing a general-purpose blockchain for a specific industry or application presents challenges. The optimization process, whether for real-world asset tokenization, gaming, DeFi, payments, etc., is complex and requires innovation to ensure faster attractiveness, especially for first-layer blockchains with limited ecosystem attractiveness.

7) Governance-related challenges:

Transparent and efficient governance is crucial for blockchain decision-making. Low/medium-attractiveness first-layer blockchains face challenges in designing and managing their own governance, leading to issues such as centralization, coordination problems, unfair voting participation, and conflicts of interest.

8) Liquidity issues:

L1 blockchains with moderate user bases will struggle to maintain high Total Value Locked (TVL), leading to insufficient funds in liquidity pools and AMMs. This lack of liquidity affects user trading, investment, and development experiences, hindering further investment in the blockchain and dApp development.

2. What are the advantages of migrating L1 blockchains to L2 Rollup?

Although L2 Rollup solutions offer a range of benefits, the following are the main advantages of migrating L1 blockchains to L2 Rollup:

1) Low-cost infrastructure:

Building second-layer Rollup solutions provides reliable infrastructure support from the first layer, ensuring high performance while reducing operational and upfront costs. Rollup as a Service (RaaS) further allows the cost-effective launch of modular Rollup solutions.

2) Fully Ethereum-compatible:

Reliable Rollup frameworks, including Polygon CDK, Zk Stack, Arbitrum, and OP Stack, are 100% Ethereum-compatible. Therefore, when first-layer blockchains migrate to second-layer Rollup solutions, they can seamlessly use existing Ethereum-based smart contracts, ERC Tokens, development tools, and code libraries.

3) Reliable security from the underlying L1:

L2 Rollup solutions directly inherit security from the underlying L1 chain while operating as independent networks. This eliminates the need to set up validators, implement separate consensus mechanisms, or provide cryptographic proofs for data integrity.

4) Network effects:

Building L2 Rollup solutions allows projects to benefit from the network effects of mature L1 blockchains (such as Ethereum). Access to resources like web3 engineers, researchers, product experts, and round-the-clock development support teams increases the chances of project success.

5) Application for specific use cases:

L2 Rollup solutions can be easily customized to support specific use cases, such as gaming. This specialization allows for large-scale scalability, different virtual machine choices, adoption of the Validium mode, etc. Flexibility also includes launching multiple Rollup solutions supporting various use cases while maintaining interoperability.

6) Shared liquidity:

There are no liquidity challenges in L2/L3 Rollup solution networks. L2 Rollup solutions can obtain liquidity from interconnected Rollup solutions through shared bridges, ensuring sufficient liquidity. For example, Polygon CDK demonstrates seamless interoperability and shared liquidity between CDK chains.

7) Seamless governance:

L2 Rollup solutions provide the flexibility to design independent governance structures while benefiting from support from the underlying blockchain. For example, a Rollup chain designed using Arbitrum Orbit can customize governance while leveraging the benefits of the Arbitrum DAO.

3. Exploring recent migrations: L1 blockchains transitioning to L2 Rollup solutions

1) Canto

Canto has successfully transitioned to an L2 using Zk-powered Polygon CDK. This move aims to achieve permissionless sovereignty, Ethereum-based security, and sufficient liquidity.

2) Celo

Celo recently migrated to an Ethereum L2 Rollup solution designed using OP Stack. This migration was driven by the desire for Ethereum alignment, security, and reaching a broader audience.

3) Astar Network

Astar Network is transitioning from an L1 built using Polkadot to an L2 Rollup solution using Polygon CDK. This transition promises to provide a zero-knowledge proof blockchain with multi-chain compatibility.

4) Lisk

Lisk announced its transition from an independent L1 built using Lisk SDK to an L2 Rollup solution using OP Stack. Lisk aims to leverage this open-source L2 ecosystem to provide scalability and lower costs for applications focusing on real-world assets.

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