More and more companies are attracted to the idea of launching their own Ethereum Layer 2 network. Most of them should not interrupt. Have a terrible number of them – More than 150. Some of these are centralized and linked to a single business and some companies such as Robinhood have recently announced plans to launch their own Layer 2 networks.
Attractions for launching an Ethereum Layer 2 network are significant, especially compared to launching your own Layer 1 (foundation layer) Blockchain. Layer 1 networks must compete with networks such as Ethereum and Solana in a strongly competitive and tight market. Layer 2 networks running at the top of the Ethereum are also faced with a strong competitive market but may simultaneously draw on the strength of the Ethereum ecosystem, thanks to the deep integration with the Ethereum itself.
In the presence of Ethereum 10 in July, it remains the dominant smart contract blockchain and is the largest single home for digital assets, real-world assets (RWA)Stablecoins and decentralized financial applications. Part of the Ethereum of the general decentralized financial ecosystem has been steadfast at about 50% over three years now. When layer 2 networks are included in the whole, it appears to be moderate.
The temptation to launch your own Ethereum Layer 2 network is easy to understand – it looks like a benefit -useful concept with a good economy. A Layer 2 network at the top of Ethereum offers a little “best of the same world”: You can control your own ecosystem within your layer 2 but maintain integration and access to the general Ethereum ecosystem. Layer 2 centralized networks can set their own price structures and almost all of the same controls as a stand-alone private blockchain such as deciding who has network access and what kind of data will be seen in others.
It has a cost. Layer 2 networks must buy transaction processing space at Ethereum Mainnet to terminate their transactions (known as Blob Space) -But those costs are likely to be less than those associated with the start of a network from scratch and competing with head-on at Ethereum. In fact, according to the token terminal, the costs of developing a layer 2 are low. For the Base, a Network 2 network managed by Coinbase, in June of 2025, the network generated $ 4.9 million in revenue and spent only $ 50,000 on layer 1 regulating fees.
In fact, layer 1 in Ethereum is very low they set a fiery debate within the network ecosystem about if they are so low, and Layer 2 networks represent a transfer of benefits from layer 1 stakeholders to Layer 2 Network. This is likely to result in some re -balancing fees, but even a 10x increase in fees is not likely to change the proposal of value scaling with scaling on layer 2 networks.
Furthermore, the recent announcement by Robinhood that they will build their own Layer 2 network in Ethereum initially confirm the general layer 2 Thesis within Ethereum: Layer 2 networks are not only a great choice of scale, they also enable various business models that are likely to have a broad range of companies joining the network.ang Layer 2 Ecosystem is likely to have a broad range of networks. have a set of participants from fully decentralized at the full center.
And it brings us to the main question: Does your company need Layer 2’s own network? Opportunity, you don’t. The real proposal of the value of a blockchain ecosystem is the ability to work in working with others without any party controlling the network. If you are a manufacturing company, for example, you want to work with your suppliers and customers at a field play level with your competitors. Blockchains allow everyone to join without favoring any participant. In the long run, working with a level playing field is cheaper and more desirable to try to integrate into different systems controlled by each of your major customers or suppliers.
While some Layer 2 networks seem to be very useful now, this is true if you can come up with a good volume of transaction. Many of layer 2 operating operating do nothing in no business as they struggle to identify themselves in a tight market. According to L2Beat, most of these networks have less than $ 1mm on TVL that is bridal from Ethereum and less than one user operation per second.
So when does a company need its own Layer 2 network? My hypothesis is the best work for companies that can combine -include significant volume of transaction in the network and that customers have no way or the individual volume to make their own direct connection to the Ethereum. To date, it mainly means financial service companies with thousands of or million -million retail customers, from Coinbase to Kraken to Robinhood. Many other companies will surely follow. Having a Layer 2 network can see, in the future, the way we look at having a seat at the New York Stock Exchange. Brokerage firms like, but a car manufacturer will not find value in it.
Three questions will be the benefit of determining whether a firm should launch its own Ethereum Layer 2 network: First, will the company include a significant amount of own transactions or clients compared to other networks? Second, Transacting On-chain Central to the company’s main model of business .. Finally, your Layer 2 approach has offered a different amount of value compared to many other network options there? If you can say yes to all three options, this is a possible path forward.
For most other types of companies, they can see the optimal value proposal to directly connect to Ethereum, or one of the other open layers 2 networks. It’s less expensive and more private than going to a combined -together will be able to mark your transaction costs and see your transaction flow and less expensive than running your own network.
I hope, however, that before we are done, quite a few companies that do not need to run their own Layer 2 will still launch one for the same factors that many companies have launched private chains in the past.
No matter how much they can expect them to fail, to attract private blockchains is always difficult to counter. The attraction of “controlling your fate” and “taxation of ecosystem” are difficult to prevent. Public chains, along with their openness, interoperability, and unauthorized nature may look scary to business users who prefer more control.
In both consumers who want private chains, the centralized layer 2 networks look like a half house that may seem appealing. Unlike private chains, I do not think they are all doomed to fail, but I think few will succeed. History continues to repeat ourselves – mostly because we are not very good at paying attention to it. Here we go again.
Denuch: These are the personal views of the set and do not represent the views of the ey.
