The ETH L2 track has completely cooled down

Once regarded as the savior for Ethereum's scalability, the Layer 2 (L2) track is gradually losing its former heat. Projects like Optimism, Arbitrum, and ZkSync continue to evolve technologically and reach new highs in TVL, but real user growth has stagnated, ecological innovation is lacking, and airdrop farming has become mainstream, leaving behind the illusion of a "decentralized bubble."

The original intention of L2 was to alleviate the low TPS and high Gas issues of Ethereum L1. However, this "outsourced execution" architecture is essentially a compromise on Ethereum's inherent performance deficiencies. The reality is that the coexistence of multiple chains has led to fragmented user experiences, inconvenience in cross-chain asset transfers, and frequent security risks. L2 has not unified standards and has instead created new "on-chain islands."

Meanwhile, the Ethereum mainnet is advancing underlying scalability upgrades such as Proto-Danksharding. Once TPS increases and data costs decrease, the core value of L2 will be reconstructed by the main chain. Additionally, with high technical barriers and ZK solutions not yet fully commercially available, L2 projects rely more on capital-driven incentives and airdrop stimulation rather than real demand for sustenance.

L2 is not a false demand, but it has evolved into a transitional product. When infrastructure is complete and performance bottlenecks are eliminated, the marginalization of L2 may become inevitable. The track is not necessarily "dead," but the narrative has completely cooled down. The real future may belong to a new paradigm that is more foundational and integrated.