2026-01-16 07:32:52

The competition between public blockchains has evolved from the fundamental question of "whether smart contracts can run" to the advanced challenge of "how to efficiently handle large-scale asset transfers and complex applications while ensuring security."

Ethereum's response is clear—achieving layered scalability through Rollup technology and establishing a dual-layer architecture with "Layer 1 as the settlement base layer and Layer 2 responsible for execution." However, in practical operation, things are not as perfect as imagined. Coordination efficiency issues between Layer 1 and most Layer 2 solutions, data availability bottlenecks, cross-layer interaction costs, and other real-world difficulties are becoming critical constraints on whether this scheme can truly support the next generation of applications.

This also explains why more and more chains are seeking alternative approaches—some strengthen single-chain performance, some explore modularization, and others try entirely new consensus mechanisms. The ultimate outcome of public chain competition will depend on who can find the optimal balance among security, decentralization, and performance.

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FrontRunFighter

· 6h ago

nah tbh the L2 cope is just masking eth's fundamental design flaws... everyone's building escape routes while pretending it's innovation lol

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MerkleDreamer

· 6h ago

That's right, the cooperation between L1 and L2 is now a pseudo-proposition; the costs are still ridiculously high. Layer 2 may be cheaper, but ultimately it still needs to settle on the mainnet, and those advantages can be eaten up by gas fees in minutes. Single-chain performance might be the true path; there's no need to complicate the architecture so much. Public chain competition is an endless game of technological stacks; I bet whoever breaks the deadlock first... modularization might be the way. But to be fair, the Ethereum ecosystem is already so strong that no matter how much other chains optimize, it's hard to turn the tide. Data availability is indeed a dead end; once cross-layer interactions become congested, everything is over. It seems that the Rollup solution can't go far; the ultimate solution still depends on new consensus mechanisms.

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ContractBugHunter

· 6h ago

In plain terms, the ideal of L1 and L2 is very appealing, but the reality is quite harsh. Daily cross-chain interactions incur a bunch of fees, and even though it’s not much faster than running directly on a single chain, it still requires a lot of hassle. If modularity can be used, there's no need for rollups. That might be the real solution. In the end, whoever manages to position the vertices of the TPS, security, and decentralization triangle in the most optimal spot will win.

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SchrodingersFOMO

· 6h ago

Ethereum's L1+L2 solution sounds great in theory, but in practice, it's a constant tug-of-war between interaction costs and data bottlenecks. It's really not as satisfying as just having a single chain with high performance. --- Honestly, you can't have both fish and bear paws at the same time. No one has truly cracked the code yet. --- Modularization still feels too idealistic; ultimately, it's a trade-off between performance and security. --- Wait, isn't this just saying that major public chains are still in the exploration stage? When will my bag start to rise? --- I just want to know whether Solana's single-chain solution will win in the end, or if Ethereum will ultimately hold out. Feeling like I bet wrong and it's really costly. --- The cross-layer interaction cost is definitely a hurdle. Poor user experience will drive users to other chains.

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GateUser-addcaaf7

· 6h ago

Rollup sounds pretty sexy, but in practice, there are still a bunch of issues. The conflicts between L1 and L2 are really uncomfortable. The single-chain performance route is the real king, while modular consensus mechanisms are just stories on paper. Let's wait and see who can really come out on top, rather than just talking about theories.

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