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Ethereum (ETH), the world’s most valuable smart contract blockchain by market capitalization, is all set to scale with the help of layer two (L2) rollups.
Ethereum’s scaling roadmap has changed over the years from its original plan to scale via sharding to the current consensus among core developers that L2 scaling is the most optimal path forward.
L2 Rollups are designed to increase the scalability of Ethereum by bundling transactions together before posting them on the main chain
Given the plethora of L2 rollups out there, Techopedia has listed the top 10 L2 rollups in the world in terms of total value locked (TVL).
Which L2 will dominate, or is there room for all? Let’s explore.
Key Takeaways
- Ethereum rollups aim to scale the blockchain by bundling transactions to reduce fees and increase throughput.
- Arbitrum, an Optimistic rollup, leads in total value locked (TVL) with over $14 billion.
- Base, created by Coinbase, quickly became one of the fastest-growing rollups without having its own token.
- Starknet is a ZK rollup that enhances user experience with native account abstraction.
- Optimistic rollups currently dominate, but ZK rollups are steadily gaining ground on Ethereum.
Top 10 Ethereum Rollups: Which L2 is Biggest?
Let’s explore the Top 10 Ethereum L2 rollups based on locked TVL as a table before exploring each project in depth.
| Rollup rank in terms of TVL |
L2 | Type of rollup | Mainnet launch | TVL | Token | Crypto Market Cap | Overall Crypto Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arbitrum | Optimistic rollup | August 2021 | $14.3 billion | ARB | $2.2 billion | 44 |
| 2 | Base | Optimistic rollup | August 2023 | $7.2 billion | No token | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 3 | Optimism Mainnet | Optimistic rollup | December 2021 | $6.5 billion | OP | $2.2 billion | 43 |
| 4 | Blast | Optimistic rollup | February 2024 | $1.53 billion | BLAST | $211 million | 230 |
| 5 | Mantle | Optimistic rollup | July 2024 | $1.30billion | MNT | $2 billion | 46 |
| 6 | Scroll | ZK rollup | October 2023 | $1.25 billion | No token | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 7 | ZKSync Era | ZK rollup | March 2023 | $930 million | ZK | $510 million | 120 |
| 8 | Linea | ZK rollup | July 2023 | $802 million | No token | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 9 | Starknet | ZK rollup | November 2021 | $705 million | STRK | $789 million | 84 |
| 10 | Manta Pacific | ZK rollup | September 2023 | $584 million | MANTA | $325 million | 167 |
Figures accurate as of end of September, 2024
Top 10 Ethereum Rollups: Deep Dive into Best L2s
10. Manta Pacific (MANTA)
According to rollup research and analysis company L2BEAT, as of October 1, 2024, Manta Pacific was the 10th largest Ethereum L2 in the world, with a TVL of over $584 million.
Manta Pacific is an Ethereum rollup that focuses on enabling developers to deploy zero-knowledge (ZK) applications easily.
Originally launched as an Optimistic rollup in 2023, Manta Pacific plans to transition to a ZK rollup by leveraging Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK).
The rollup utilizes Celestia as its data availability (DA) layer. MANTA is the native token of the platform.
9. Starknet (STRK)
Starknet is a ZK rollup on Ethereum that writes its smart contracts using a custom-built and specialized programming language called Cairo. According to Starknet, Cairo is a developer-friendly and expressive programming language.
The rollup aims to improve crypto user experience (UX) by deploying native account abstraction (AA) on Starknet. Native AA removes UX complexities such as private key management and gas fee payment.
All accounts on Starknet are smart wallet accounts, and the decentralized applications on Starknet are designed to pass on the benefits of native AA to the end user.
Starknet’s native token, STRK, debuted in early 2024. As of October 1, 2024, it was the 83rd largest crypto in the world, with a market cap of over $789 million.
8. Linea
Linea is a ZK rollup developed by MetaMask wallet creator Consensys. It launched in July 2023 and has grown to become the 8th largest Ethereum L2 in the world, with a TVL of over $802 million.
The rollup looks to leverage its close relationship with MetaMask, arguably the most popular crypto wallet in the world. Linea is integrated with MetaMask as a “preferred network” within the wallet.
Linea does not have a native token at the time of writing.
7. ZKSync Era (ZK)
ZKSync Era is a zero-knowledge rollup on Ethereum created by a corporate entity called Matter Labs.
The rollup is the first chain to be developed as part of an ecosystem of blockchains created using the ZK Stack, an open-source framework for building custom rollup chains based on the code of ZKsync Era. This ecosystem is interconnected via a bridging solution called zkSync Bridgehub.
According to Matter Labs, the company is working on relinquishing control of the ecosystem to the community. A governance token called $ZK, launched in June 2024, is part of this vision.
6. Scroll
Scroll is an Ethereum-based ZK rollup founded in 2021 by Ye Zhang, Haichen Shen, and Sandy Peng. Based on L2Beat data, as of October 1, 2024, Scroll was the largest ZK rollup in the world in terms of TVL.
The rollup is focused on providing a seamless developer experience by enabling the migration of existing decentralized applications and developer tools from Ethereum.
Security is a “top priority” on Scroll. The platform performs regular external audits of its bridge and smart contracts and has an active bug bounty program.
Scroll does not have a native token at the time of writing.
5. Mantle (MNT)
Mantle is an Optimistic rollup that uses Ethereum as its consensus and settlement layer and EigenDA as its data availability layer.
Mantle was developed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called BitDAO. In May 2024, BitDAO approved a proposal to merge its governance and treasury with Mantle and rebrand under a single name.
The merger resulted in BitDAO’s BIT token being converted into Mantle’s governance token MNT.
The project has a close relationship with centralized crypto exchange ByBit, which was one of BitDAO’s early supporters.
4. Blast (BLAST)
Blast is an Optimistic rollup founded by Tieshun Roquerre (aka “Pacman”) – the creator of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform Blur.
The project differentiates itself from other Ethereum rollups by offering native yield on ETH tokens, which means that ETH tokens on Blast automatically earn staking yield.
Blast also offers native yield on stablecoins. Whenever a user bridges a compatible stablecoin to Blast it is automatically converted to a yield-earning stablecoin called USDB. According to Blast, yield for ETH and USDB comes from Ethereum staking and MakerDAO’s on-chain T-Bill protocol.
Launched in late February 2024, Blast has quickly become the fourth-largest Ethereum rollup in the world, with a TVL of $1.53 billion as of October 2024. Its native token BLAST was airdropped to community members in June 2024.
3. Optimism Mainnet (OP)
Optimism Mainnet is the first Ethereum rollup to be built using a standardized, shared, and open-source L2 development stack called the OP Stack.
The Optimism Mainnet is a part of a wider vision known as the Superchain where a network of OP Stack chains share bridges, decentralized governance, upgrades and a communication layer.
According to Optimism, the launch of the Superchain will merge Optimism Mainnet with other OP Stack chains into a single unified network.
Optimism Mainnet’s native token OP will be used as the governance token of the Superchain.
2. Base
Base is an Optimistic rollup created by crypto exchange Coinbase in 2023. It was built using the OP Stack and will eventually be part of the Superchain.
Within a year of its launch, Base has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing blockchains in the world, supported by Coinbase’s hefty coffers and technical know-how.
Despite centralization concerns regarding Base’s single sequencer node, the rollup has become the sixth-largest crypto blockchain in terms of TVL alongside established layer one (L1) chains such as Ethereum, Solana (SOL), Tron (TRX), and BNB Chain (BNB).
At the time of this writing, Base does not have a native token. However, there are alternative ways to gain exposure to Base’s explosive growth.
1. Arbitrum (ARB)
Arbitrum is a Optimistic rollup on Ethereum created by Offchain Labs. It was one of the first rollups to go live on Ethereum when it launched in August 2021.
Arbitrum has grown to become the largest Ethereum rollup with a TVL of over $14 billion, as of October 1, 2024. A big part of Arbitrum’s meteoric growth is due to its popularity with blockchain developers due to offerings such as Arbitrum AnyTrust (dApp development kit) and Arbitrum Orbit (blockchain development kits).
Additionally, Arbitrum’s solutions allow developers to program in various languages such as Rust, C, and C++. Ethereum virtual machine code is written in Solidity.
Arbitrum’s native token ARB launched in March 2024 amid much fanfare. However, consistent token unlocks have made ARB one of the worst-performing cryptos of 2024.
The Bottom Line
The “Optimistic rollup vs ZK rollup” debate is a heavily-discussed debate within crypto circles.
At the moment, Optimistic rollups are leading L2 rollup development. But slowly yet steadily, we are beginning to see more ZK rollups launch their mainnet on Ethereum.
