原文作者：David C
原文来源：Bankless
原文标题：Are Layer 3s the Future?
编译:Yvonne,火星财经
After the Ethereum Dencun upgrade, with fees dropping for most L2s, everyone is thinking about what will happen next.
At the moment, the topic of scaling has quickly shifted to a potential next step, L3. L3, also known as an appchain, provides a tailored environment for specific communities and use cases, such as enterprise blockchain applications or games.
In addition, while Dencun has generally lowered fees, we have not yet fully overcome this challenge, and gas prices for popular L2 like Base remain an issue for many – although progress is being made.
Does L3 solve this problem?
How can we scale further?
Studying what L3 can do, what L3 is currently deployed, and the frameworks that can be used to launch L3 will provide more information to answer this question.
What can L3 offer?
Scaling from L2 to L3 allows for a more specialized ecosystem tailored to specific needs, potentially greatly broadening the reach of the blockchain market.
Successful L2s have established brands for themselves, e.g. Blast is a degen hub, Base is a consumer/social hub, Arbitrum is a DeFi/gaming hub, and so on. In turn, the L3s they attract are likely to follow this cultural pattern, maintaining the on-chain atmosphere and further enhancing L2's capabilities and reputation.
For example, L3 on Base may have the level of privacy required to process consumer data, or be tailored to a specific social use case. At the same time, L3 on Arbitrum can be dedicated to gaming.
To this end, L3 offers a wide range of customizability to enhance these hubs and help them scale by:
● Reduced settlement costs: Settlement costs are greatly reduced, making development more economically viable.
● Areas of experimentation: The customizability of L3 opens up the possibility of endless experimentation, whether it's a new business model, a different virtual machine, a data availability solution, or a management model, which is not possible on either L1 or L2.
● Privacy enhancements: L3 can be a privacy-centric layer that allows anonymous transactions or encrypted messaging services, and opens up the market for enterprise businesses that need this level of privacy.
● New economic models: L3 can develop new or more powerful economic models in which tokens other than ETH can be used to burn gas, and the value of such tokens may increase over time.
L3 helps evolve and enhance L2, providing greater scalability, lower costs, and a customizable environment for specific applications. This enhances the capabilities of L2 and further establishes L2 as a hub for specific use cases.
What are some examples of L3?
The L3 example demonstrates the benefits of this type of scaling approach by enhancing L2 capabilities for the target use case. For example:
● Yuga's Apechain and Azuki's Animechain: Both BAYC and Azuki recently announced the use of Arbitrum's Orbit, a framework for launching L3, for L3 deployments. For BAYC, this allowed them to create an environment specifically suited to their metaverse and gaming pursuits, such as Otherside, while also providing a new use case for their APE token. For Azuki, the launch of L3 will allow them to build a dedicated network for anime lovers and creators. It remains to be seen whether these shifts will be an expression of innovation or an attempt to remain relevant.
DegenChain and Frame Chain: In January 2024, the DEGEN token was launched on the fully decentralized social network Farcaster and quickly became an important feature for Casters to reward quality contributions. DegenChain launched on March 28, introducing a cost-effective L3 solution for extending everything DEGEN can do (tips, rewards, contests, making new meme coins, and more). DegenChain borrows from Arbitrum Orbits and is based on Base, using DEGEN as its Gas token. It has processed more than 500,000 transactions and boosted Base's reputation as a social and consumer hub.
Similarly, the Frame Chain (OP Stack L3 on Base) for developers of Farcaster Frames (mini-applications deployed in Farcaster) offers high throughput, the lowest gas cost, and is free for developers. To date, the chain has been used for projects such as token-gated commerce, interactive mini-games, and on-chain competitions, highlighting the utility of environments tailored for such specific use cases.
● Xai Network: L3 Solutions Xai Network was developed in conjunction with Offchain Labs, the creator of Arbitrum, to meet the large-scale needs of Web3 gaming. Its interface simplifies wallet management for gamers and provides developers with enhanced gas and contract capabilities, such as processing transactions in parallel to create high throughput. XAI, as the native token of the network, can be used for deposits, rewarding validators, and as the primary currency for purchasing games and in-game assets. These features have helped establish Arbitrum as a hub for Web3 gaming – as evidenced by their focus on funding gaming initiatives – and have attracted popular games like Crypto Unicorns to migrate to their ecosystem.
These chains exemplify how L3 enables or enhances specific use cases, allowing its L2 to carve out its own niche while scaling up.
How do I build L3?
For some time now, there have been two things that have hindered L3 adoption: the need for standardized infrastructure for deploying L3. Let's take a look at the main frameworks that can launch L3.
Three of the leading solutions are:
Arbitrum Orbits: Building on Arbitrum L2, its Orbit chain allows anyone to make highly customized L3 blockchains. Think of the Orbit chain as a personal highway on Ethereum, capable of processing more transactions than L1 or L2. Building a blockchain on L2 can provide a versatile and scalable solution, while the Orbit chain can be fine-tuned for specific needs, providing unmatched scalability and customization. They can also be easily deployed through rollup tools like Conduit, making access much easier.
OP Stack: Optimism's OP Stack provides a toolkit for building cheaper and faster Ethereum-compatible blockchains. The advantage of building a blockchain with OP Stack is its standardized framework, so interoperability with other OP Stack-based blockchains can be achieved immediately, greatly reducing the issues that can arise due to incompatibilities or bridging vulnerabilities.
Additionally, while the OP Stack allows people to customize their own chains at will, their ecosystem is eligible for retroactive funding to airdrop OP into their network if they adhere to Optimism's "law of chains." Another advantage of the OP Stack comes from current adopters, such as Base, a leader in the L2 ecosystem. Building networks with OP Stack guarantees compatibility with these networks, which is a competitive advantage for any growing blockchain.
● Starknet: Like other frameworks, Starknet is highly customizable to fit any use case while being extremely cost-effective and extremely fast. There are two things that make Starknet's solution stand out:
○ L3 built with its SDK uses Cairo (Starknet's programming language). These high-performance, developer-centric languages are high-performance and scalable without compromising security.
○ Starknet L3 uses a dedicated sequencer, Madara, to build a customizable, efficient application chain. Madara's specific framework further enhances Cairo's capabilities, resulting in safe, efficient, and adaptable programs. This allows developers to build their own L3 solutions based on specific needs, such as cost-saving DEXs or fast private transaction systems.
Arbitrum Orbits, OP Stack, and Starknet Layer 3 provide easy access to the L3 ecosystem. They bring unique development tools that can be used to create customized, efficient L3 solutions that synergize with their ecosystem and emerge unique use cases.
conclusion
Recent events have pushed L3 to the forefront of the blockchain scaling journey, addressing L2's limitations by providing efficiency, customizability, and user engagement.
As these networks have grown, they have demonstrated the potential for widespread adoption of the technology and sparked a debate about the dynamic impact of the technology on the value and security dynamics of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Vitalik said that despite the popularity of L3, it is important to recognize that L3 itself does not increase transaction throughput beyond the capabilities of L2, and he believes that there is a better way to scale. They do, though, reduce some of the operational costs of getting money in and out of these tiers. Other critics, such as the CEO of Polygon Labs, argue that L3 could dilute Ethereum's underlying value and contribute to centralization.
Since full danksharding, an upgrade to scale blobs to improve Ethereum's scalability, is still years away, at least in the meantime, we must acknowledge the strategic importance of L3 in shaping a more accessible, diverse, and scalable future.
So, while L3 may not be how we scale in the long run, it may be the way we can scale today.