Layer2 is likely to become necessary with increasing real-world use of blockchain and crypto products. The improvements will impact many industries in 2022. This is the year when everyone will know if fully functional, competitive and feasible ZK rollups are possible. Lots of connections between centralized exchanges and layer 2 solutions can emerge. Many layer 2 applications will come up and they will be built from scratch as they benefit from L2’s computational abundance. Some even predict layer 3 emerging and operating over the second one.
Changes Will Occur in 2022
It is estimated that ethereum blockchain with the highest locked-in value and with smart contract capability will move to proof of stake consensus setup. Unless it is delayed, blockchain analysts expect that ethereum can scale. Layer2 projects built on ethereum, such as Loopring, Polygon, Optimism and Arbitrum are likely to become redundant. Many stakeholders will keep claiming the relevance of L2 platforms is not going to decrease when ethereum 2.0 or “consensus layer”, as it is rebranded, comes up. Demand for these platforms will continue to grow in 2022 as the use of ETH also increases. Businesses are looking for cost-effective and fast mechanisms.
Will Layer 2 Idea End after the Release of Ethereum 2.0?
Ethereum 2.0 expected to be launched in next few months is not going to make layer 2 solutions redundant. Rather, the relevance of L2 will keep increasing. The reason is that the ethereum improvement is unlikely to fulfill the demands of its users. Crypto is still in its early phase. Gaming studios, financial institutions, Web 2 players and brands are only starting with their Web 3 projects. Enterprises are in the initial stage to develop something for this space. The Polygon team already sees huge demand that exceeds the likely scaling that will emerge after ethereum 2.0.
The utility of layer 2 is only going to increase as more real-world applications of blockchain and crypto emerge.
