L2BEAT was created to provide transparent and verifiable insights into emerging layer two (L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups.) technologies which, in line with the rollup-centric Ethereum scaling roadmap are aimed at scaling Ethereum.
While those platforms are great, they primarily focus on tracking value locked in DeFi projects and other performance metrics across various chains. In comparison, L2BEAT focuses exclusively on the decentralization and trust assumptions of Ethereum scaling projects (L2s and L3s) and reports not just TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens. but also various metrics related to the livenessLiveness refers to the ability of a system to respond to requests and to process them in a timely manner. In the context of L2s, it refers to the ability of settling transactions, proofs and state roots to the base layer. and security of these projects.
The term TVL (Total Value Locked) is often associated with value locked in DeFi projects, or in general in some smart contracts. When we started, we only tracked value locked in canonical bridges, but as we expanded our scope to include externally bridged and natively minted assets, which are not necessarily locked, we decided to rename the metric to Total Value Secured (TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens.) to better reflect the broader scope of assets we track, i.e. all assets managed in some form by the project.
L2BEAT and DefiLlama use different methodologies for calculating TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens. and TVL. The TVS on L2BEAT is a sum of canonically bridged, externally bridged, and natively minted assets (e.g. L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups.-native governance tokens like ARB and OP), while DefiLlama TVL focuses on assets actively engaged in dApps on specific networks.
Example: let’s assume L2BEAT reports a TVS of 2.5 billion, while DefiLlama reports a TVL of 1 billion for the same Layer 2 networkA constellation of nodes (peers) that communicate via a peer-to-peer protocol, for example, in propagating transactions and blocks to other nodes. (e.g., Arbitrum). This suggests that 1.5 billion worth of assets have been bridged (canonically or externally) or natively minted on Arbitrum, but are not yet being used in any dApps listed by DefiLlama. For instance, if you deposit 1 ETH to Optimism, L2BEAT would include it in their TVS calculation, but DefiLlama TVL would not. However, if you use that 1 ETH on Optimism to provide liquidity on Uniswap, DefiLlama would then include it in their TVL calculation.
Layer 2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasmaPlasma is an offchain scaling solution that is able to support offchain data availability by allowing users to exit even when the data is unavailable. Usually, though, Plasma projects require users to frequently monitor the chain (e.g. at least once per week) to ensure that they can exit in time if necessary. There are attempts to support general smart contracts, but the exit mechanism is often limited to simpler applications.. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as “light” L2s, opposed to “strong” L2s like rollups.
We want to track the progress of the projects that are credibly committed towards becoming trust-minimized L2s. Our goal is to provide the community with the most up-to-date information about the state of these projects and to provide insights and guidance for them to become fully trust minimized.
We originally excluded Validiums and Optimiums from our definition of L2s due to the additional trust assumptions they introduce. However, the broader community often includes them in the L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. category, so we consider them to be “light” L2s as opposed to “strong” L2s like rollups. We will continue to track these projects to provide the community with a broader perspective on the state of the space and to provide tools to evaluate the different tradeoffs between the various solutions.
There are two primary (and somewhat independent) mechanisms that L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. chains use.
First, the L2 state can be verified by L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development. through either Validity ProofThe output of a cryptographic proving system attesting to correct computation. ZK-Rollups use succinct validity proofs (also called zero-knowledge proofs) to prove a batch of rollup transactions and blocks were properly executed. Validity proofs are submitted to a verifier, such as an Ethereum smart contract, which accepts them if properly constructed. or Fraud ProofAlso referred to as a fault proof, it is the construction of an assertion that fraud was perpetrated on an optimistic rollup. More concretely, that an invalid state transition took place according to the protocol rules. The submitter of a fraud proof would expect a reward from the optimistic rollup protocol for helping maintain the integrity of the system.. This mechanism is most important as it ensures that L2 proposers cannot cheat and include invalid transactions in an L2 blockAn ordered list of transactions and chain-related metadata that gets bundled together and published to the L1/DA layer. Nodes execute the transactions contained within blocks to change the rollup chain’s state. Protocol rules dictate what constitutes a valid block, and invalid blocks are skipped over., e.g. mint coins out of thin airAlgebraic intermediate representation (AIR) is a type of arithmetization commonly used in zkVMs. It represents a trace of zkVM state transitions with low degree polynomial constraints that enforce the correct relation between previous and current states of the computation. Several variations of AIR are used in practice, with slight differences among them. or steal your coins.
The second use of L1 is as a Data AvailabilityThe property of a rollup's data being reachable by any node retrieving the data that were rolled up and executed to reach the proposed state. Data availability (DA), specifically decoupling it from the rollup nodes themselves, is one of the preeminent factors which allows a rollup to scale securely. A rollup is faced with a decision of what to use as a DA layer to guarantee that any node can retrieve this data--permissionlessly under any circumstance. For this reason, using Ethereum for DA currently provides the strongest security guarantees. If data is stored somewhere other than a permissionless L1, then the project is not a rollup, but rather a validium or an optimium. layer for L2 transactions so that users can independently re-create the L2 state and ensure continued and safe system operation or trustlessly exit to L1. If the data is published on another chain, then the security of the L2 is dependent on the security of that chain as well.
An L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. chain can periodically “commit” its state to L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development. by submitting the hashA fixed-length fingerprint of variable-size input, produced by a hash function. of its current state rootA cryptographic hash succinctly representing a state using a Merkle tree.. A state root is just a number, e.g: 0x77905a71f4b32221… . We need a mechanism to ensure that this number corresponds to the actual L2 state.
One way to do so is by providing a cryptographic Validity ProofThe output of a cryptographic proving system attesting to correct computation. ZK-Rollups use succinct validity proofs (also called zero-knowledge proofs) to prove a batch of rollup transactions and blocks were properly executed. Validity proofs are submitted to a verifier, such as an Ethereum smart contract, which accepts them if properly constructed. (zkProof) that will be verified by the L1 smart contract. If the verification passes, users can be sure that the state root represents the results of valid transaction execution.
Alternatively, an honest L2 chain observer can challenge roots. They can do this by producing a Fraud ProofAlso referred to as a fault proof, it is the construction of an assertion that fraud was perpetrated on an optimistic rollup. More concretely, that an invalid state transition took place according to the protocol rules. The submitter of a fraud proof would expect a reward from the optimistic rollup protocol for helping maintain the integrity of the system.. This proof empowers the L1 contract to autonomously confirm the inaccuracy of the state root and subsequently reject it.
A state rootA cryptographic hash succinctly representing a state using a Merkle tree. from L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. is typically used to check coin ownership on L2 that user wants to withdraw to L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development.. If the fraudulent state root is submitted, it may attest that all coins belong to a dishonest L2 validatorIn the context of L2s, a Validator is an actor that validates the correctness of state transitions. For optimistic rollups this corresponds to challengers, and for ZK rollups this corresponds to the onchain verifier rather than legitimate users. These coins can be then withdrawn to L1 from L2—effectively stealing them. This is why it is not enough to simply commit state roots of L2 to L1, we need to be sure that this state root is valid.
Most L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. constructions are upgradable and until upgradability mechanism is either fully disabled or controlled by a sufficiently decentralized DAO, the funds can be, in theory, stolen through the upgrade mechanism. L2BEAT will closely monitor how the particular construction is upgradable and who currently controls the upgradability keys.
To trustlessly withdraw coins from L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups., users need to prove ownership of the coins to L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development. smart contract that holds all the funds. For that they need to have access to all L2’s transactions or its current state. To not introduce any additional trust assumptions, L2 transactions can simply be recorded on L1 (as cheap calldata).
For more details on data availabilityThe property of a rollup's data being reachable by any node retrieving the data that were rolled up and executed to reach the proposed state. Data availability (DA), specifically decoupling it from the rollup nodes themselves, is one of the preeminent factors which allows a rollup to scale securely. A rollup is faced with a decision of what to use as a DA layer to guarantee that any node can retrieve this data--permissionlessly under any circumstance. For this reason, using Ethereum for DA currently provides the strongest security guarantees. If data is stored somewhere other than a permissionless L1, then the project is not a rollup, but rather a validium or an optimium. and its importance in security of scaling protocols, see our DA page, as well as Ethereum.org’s page on the topic.
We currently acknowledge the following possible designs of trust-minimized L2s:
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zkRollup - they publish data on L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development. (Ethereum) to inherit data availabilityThe property of a rollup's data being reachable by any node retrieving the data that were rolled up and executed to reach the proposed state. Data availability (DA), specifically decoupling it from the rollup nodes themselves, is one of the preeminent factors which allows a rollup to scale securely. A rollup is faced with a decision of what to use as a DA layer to guarantee that any node can retrieve this data--permissionlessly under any circumstance. For this reason, using Ethereum for DA currently provides the strongest security guarantees. If data is stored somewhere other than a permissionless L1, then the project is not a rollup, but rather a validium or an optimium. and consensusAn agreement on the latest and correct state of a blockchain. Unlike L1 blockchains which coordinate participating nodes with consensus rules, rollups rely on L1s for reaching consensus by checking the state of the rollup smart contract deployed thereon. guarantees, and use validity proofs to guarantee state rootsA cryptographic hash succinctly representing a state using a Merkle tree. correctness.
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Optimistic RollupA rollup that optimistically updates state with the possibility of fraud proofs being generated to revert faulty state roots. - they publish data on L1 to inherit data availability and consensus guarantees, and use fraud proofs to guarantee state roots correctness.
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State channel - they don’t publish data onchain, but require users to keep their data in order to exit. They’re not general and require users participation.
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PlasmaPlasma is an offchain scaling solution that is able to support offchain data availability by allowing users to exit even when the data is unavailable. Usually, though, Plasma projects require users to frequently monitor the chain (e.g. at least once per week) to ensure that they can exit in time if necessary. There are attempts to support general smart contracts, but the exit mechanism is often limited to simpler applications. - they don’t publish data onchain and use fraud proofs for disputes. Similarly to state channels, users are required to keep their data to correctly exit. They don’t require users participation, but they do not support general computation.
By introducing more trust assumptions we can also specify the following categories that fall outside of the trust-minimized L2s category:
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ValidiumAn off-chain solution that uses validity proofs for settlement and publishes the data offchain, therefore requiring an additional trust assumption. - Those systems rely on validity proofs and data published externally.
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OptimiumAn off-chain solution that uses fraud proofs for settlement and publishes the data offchain, therefore requiring an additional trust assumption. - historically named Optimistic Chain. Those systems rely on fraud proofs and data published externally.
For more details see the Incomplete guide to Rollups by Vitalik Buterin.
They got renamed to Optimiums for clarity.
It varies from project to project but in general, the TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens. is defined as the sum of canonically bridged, externally bridged, and native assets of a given L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups.. Depending on the token type we might apply a different formula to count the value of this particular token:
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Canonically bridged tokenAsset bridged from Ethereum L1 via a canonical (enshrined into the L2) bridge. These assets are originally minted on Ethereum, they are using Ethereum as a canonical source ledger and they are bridged using a lock-mint canonical bridge.: tokens_locked_on_L1 * price
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Externally bridged tokenAsset bridged to L2 via non-canonical bridge (lock-mint or burn-mint). These assets are either originally minted on Ethereum L1 but they are not using a canonical bridge or — more likely — they are originally minted on some other L1 (e.g. Polygon, Avalanche, BSC) and are bridged to L2 via non-canonical bridge.: total_supply_on_L2 * price
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Omnichain native token: total_supply_on_L2 * price
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Regular native token: circulating_supply * price
Please note that in some cases formula might actually be different (for example we may use circulating supply instead of total supply for some tokens)
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Canonically Bridged Value (CBV) is the value of assets that use L1Layer 1 (L1) is a blockchain that is self-reliant on its validator set for its security and consensus properties. Ethereum is an example of a layer 1. Blockchains started receiving the moniker of layer 1 once layer 2 became a meaningful area of development. Ethereum as their main ledger and are bridged to L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. via a canonical bridgeA message-passing protocol between two blockchains. At its most basic, a token bridge consists of a smart contract which can escrow funds on one side of the bridge, and instruct the release or minting of corresponding assets on the other side, but bridges could also support arbitrary messages. How these instructions are validated is a critical factor in assessing the trust assumptions of a bridge. locking tokens in L1 escrow and minting on L2 an IOU representation of that token.
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Externally Bridged Value (EBV) is the value of assets that use some external blockchain as their main ledger and are bridged to L2 via a non-canonical bridge. Tokens are locked on their native ledger and the bridge is minting on L2 an IOU representation of that token.
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Natively Minted Value (NMV) is the value of assets that use an L2 as their ledger and are minted directly on the L2. Note that for some tokens (omnichain tokens) their ledger is distributed across many blockchains and they can be moved to L2 via a burn-mint bridge.
For more information read the L2 Assets blog post.
We will continuously monitor different L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups. technologies with the primary focus on user funds’ security. To this end we will track not just the usage of a particular L2 (TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens., frequency of state rootA cryptographic hash succinctly representing a state using a Merkle tree. commits, number of transactions, gasA virtual fuel used to execute smart contracts on a rollup. The EVM (or other VM within the rollup) uses an accounting mechanism to correspond the consumption of gas to the consumption of computing resources, and to limit the consumption of computing resources. cost, etc…) but we will try to highlight the main risks related to their implementation that may affect user’s funds security.
No, the L2BEAT team DOES NOT DO SECURITY AUDIT. All the information that we present on our site should be independently verified by anyone wanting to use given L2Layer 2 (L2) is a category of technical solutions aimed to scale the base layer in a trust minimized way. This category includes solutions like rollups as well as state channels and plasma. Other solutions are able to scale further, but with the introduction of additional trust assumptions, which are therefore not trust minimized. Sometimes the term Layer 2 is used to refer to include these solutions too, like validiums and optimiums, but to distinguish between trust minimized and non trust minimized solutions they are often referred to as "light" L2s, opposed to "strong" L2s like rollups.. Our goal is to collect as much information as we can about the “state of L2s” and allow the community to better understand what security assumptions are used to build given L2 solutions.
We are currently focused mainly on rollups, but would love to expand our research to state channels in the future. For the time being we lack resources to properly evaluate those systems.
Nahmii was actually listed on L2BEAT for a time, but was removed for the reason stated above. If you want to check TVSWe define TVS to be the total amount of value that can be accessed on a project. Currently, L2BEAT only tracks fungible assets, but it could be extended in the future. Currently, TVS is calculated as the sum of canonical bridged tokens, externally bridged tokens and native tokens. for Nahmii you can do that on etherscan.
Everything is open source – just create a PR. If you want to add a new project you should read our contributing guidelines.
🔍 Here is also a visual step-by-step guide for creating a Pull Request - link
We use Alchemy, QuickNode, Blast API, CoinGecko, Etherscan, and Blockscout for different types of data.