Why Yakovenko Thinks Layer-2 is Just a Fancy Distraction

Ah, the eternal clash of blockchain titans! Enter Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, who, as usual, has something to say about the ever-growing world of Layer-2 rollups. According to Yakovenko, there is absolutely no reason to build an L2. Why, you ask? Because Layer-1 blockchains, like Solana, are already handling everything with the grace of a ballerina. They’re faster, cheaper, and more secure – no need for the chaos of fraud proofs or multi-signature upgrades that, according to him, only add unnecessary risks to the party.

“There is no reason to build an L2.

L1s can be faster, cheaper, and more secure.

They aren’t slowed down by a glacially moving L1 data availability stack, or have to compromise security with complex fraud proofs and upgrade multisigs.”

— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) March 23, 2025

Oh, but Yakovenko isn’t done yet! Taking a hearty jab at the ever-expanding universe of Layer-2 networks, he wonders aloud: why do they even exist in the first place? Earlier this month, he suggested that developers could simply skip all the Layer-2 hassle and just launch a token instead. After all, how many smart contracts does the world really need? So many L2s out there, and for what? The expansion of L2s seems, in his eyes, to be an exercise in futility.

But wait, there’s more! Yakovenko takes a moment to question the very essence of L2s. If one L2 can run transactions in parallel, why not make full use of the blobspace available and handle all the necessary use cases? He cheekily asks: why would anyone need multiple L2s to compete with each other? A bit of a brain-buster, right? 🍿

Not one to leave well enough alone, Yakovenko has been vocal about his criticisms of Ethereum’s scaling model. His claim? That L2s are actually *hurting* Ethereum’s base layer rather than helping it. The logic is simple: L2 solutions drain high-priority transactions from Ethereum itself, leaving the main blockchain with less than it had before. Kind of like a parasitic relationship, really. You know, the kind of relationship that leaves the host a little… emptier than before. 😬

And, oh boy, the plot thickens. Ethereum’s transaction revenue has taken a nosedive, plunging by a shocking 95% since its peak in late 2021. Yakovenko, ever the skeptic, raises a key point: does this dramatic fall in Ethereum’s revenue signal that L2s are more of a hindrance than a help? Perhaps, in his view, it’s time to stop layering on top of things and focus on perfecting Layer-1 solutions instead.

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2025-03-24 13:41