Ethereum L2 Interoperability – The Super Chains

Our latest report looks into how Ethereum L2-based solutions like ZKsync’s Elastic Chain, Polygon’s AggLayer, and Optimism’s Superchain address scalability and interoperability challenges.

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Key Takeaways

• With the significant development of Ethereum Layer-2s (L2s), Ethereum L2 interoperability solutions have also gained traction, with ZKsync Elastic Chain, Optimism Superchain, and Polygon AggLayer as the notable players.

• Ethereum L2 interoperability solutions offer highly optimised and secure options for connecting Ethereum-compatible networks, while general cross-chain solutions provide broader interoperability across diverse blockchain ecosystems at the cost of increased complexity.

• ZKsync Elastic Chain: Built on ZKsync’s ZK Stack, the network of ZK rollups boasts a TVL of approximately $1.30 billion, with zkSync Era leading at $1.07 billion. 
  • Key features include native interoperability, shared liquidity, trustless validation, and horizontal scalability. 
  • Notable upcoming L2 chains include Cronos zkEVM.

• Optimism Superchain: Integrating with Optimism’s OP Stack, this is the largest Ethereum L2 ecosystem network, consisting of over 25 chains, with a TVL of around $20.4 billion. 
  • Features include shared bridging, decentralised governance, secure transactions, and a permissionless proof system, offering horizontal scalability and compatibility with Ethereum standards.
  • The developer-friendly OP Stack is the main driver for the expansion of Optimism’s ecosystem, which allows developers to deploy their customised L2s easily and cost-efficiently.

• Polygon AggLayer: Unifies liquidity, user experience, and states across multiple blockchains using a unified bridge and Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK). The ecosystem includes three chains, with Polygon zkEVM as the biggest with $122 million TVL. 
  • Features include proof aggregation, fast optimistic confirmation, atomic interactions, and modular customisations through the Polygon CDK.
  • However, its network performance (e.g., throughput) could be lower than the above-mentioned two, casting doubts on the ecosystem’s development.

• These interoperability solutions are expected to gain significant traction as they address the fragmentation issues in the L2 landscape. They will likely attract more developers and users by offering seamless cross-chain communication and improved scalability.

Read the full report: Ethereum L2 Interoperability – The Super Chains

Authors

Crypto.com Research and Insights team

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