L2 Success Masks Limited Impact on Ethereum

L2s have achieved tremendous commercial success, but their impact on Ethereum is limited. According to L2BEAT data, most leading enterprise-grade L2s remain stuck in Stage 0 or 1 and do not truly utilize Ethereum's final settlement capabilities. Even those that have progressed to Stage 2, like Facet with $661k TVL, still contribute minimally to Ethereum financially.

Robinhood Chain, for example, generates $3-4 million in daily on-chain revenue but pays Ethereum only a few hundred dollars per day. Base and Arbitrum One have massive TVLs of $14.42 billion and $12.6 billion respectively, but remain at Stage 1. Their operators can censor transactions without delay and even upgrade contracts instantly.

The author argues that the commercial success of L2s cannot be equated with Ethereum's success. He suggests shifting R&D focus towards Ethereum-native, non-replicable tracks like CROPS (Censorship resistance, freedom of expression, privacy, security). According to Mark Tyneway, co-founder of Optimism, Stage 2 deviates from what users actually want, and operators prefer features that minimize their own legal risks.