L2 Ethereum projects in trouble? L1 in the foreground.

Base to Optimistic Rollup launched by Coinbase in 2023, based on OP Stack. It combines fees below 1 cent with a simple UX, attracting retail and DEFI, such as Aerodrome or Uniswap. In 2025, he dominates, generating 67% L2 fees, i.e. USD 37.4 million, with TVL USD 3.08 billion. Since April 2024, it processes about 3 million transactions a day, piercing the Ethereum L1 2.5x! He is driven by a frenzy on memecoins such as Degen or Brett and Coinbase support.

This is a onboarding machine, connecting Optimistic and ZK-Rollupy. But Base has a problem, because it is too much about Coinbase and does not offer a unique niche except “cheaper ethereum”. In the future, it may grow thanks to integration with Coinbase products, but he must find something that will stand out for a long time, otherwise he will only be a Mainnet clone.

Source: Messari

Arbitrum – DEFI with breathlessness

Arbitrum, Optimistic Rollup from 2021, is the King of DEFI from GMX and UNISWAP, offering full compatibility. Arbitrum One focuses on safety, and Nova on cheap games and community. With TVL (Total Value Locked) USD 2.7 billion and Market Capem ARB appro The upgrade Nitro reduced the costs by 85%, and the style, i.e. the ability to write in Rust, C ++ attracts developers from outside Solidit.

Arbitrum Dao and the Bold protocol increase decentralization, which gives him the community like hardly any L2. But operational losses at the level of approx. USD 126.6 million from the start and the advantage of Base is a big problem. Arbitrum focuses on specialization and partnerships, but must attract more fluidity so as not to be behind.

Optimism – Superchain with financial problems

Optimism, based on OP Stack, is Optimistic Rollup, which supports Superchain, i.e. the ecosystem of 30 networks, including Base, Mode and Worldchain. He focuses on simplicity and public Goods via Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RPGF), which has distributed millions to projects. It generates only 4% L2 fees because about USD 2.1 million, with TVL at USD 942 million. OP Stack attracts players like Kraken Ink or Sony Soneium, but only Base gives real revenues. The partnership from Base cost 118 million OP (USD 187.7 million), which shows that success is expensive. The OP token has lost a lot of value and activity on OP Mainnet decreases. Superchain can unify liquidity, but Optimism needs new sources of income so as not to become a “base” for Base.

Zksync – ZK -Rollup with potential

Zksync is the first EVM – compatible ZK – Rollup, using snarks for fast and safe transactions, with pressure on DEFs and payments. TVL increased to USD 700 million. But Airdrop ZK disappointed in June 2024 (-50% from the initial price), and TVL among ZK-Rollups dropped to $ 100 million and this gives them fourth place. Elastic Chain, planned for 2025, is to increase scalability. Zksync offers primarily speed and low fees, but Custom Compiler scares back developers, and Hype after Airdropie has expired. To bounce, Zksync must improve UX and attract more DAPPS, otherwise it will remain in the shade of arbitrum and base.

Starknet is ZK-Rollup for the brave

Starknet is a ZK-Rollup with Cairo language, offering huge scalability (up to 100 TPS after Quantum Leap) and Quantum-resistant Starki, ideal for def and games. TVL increased from USD 40 million to USD 300 million in $ 2024, with 90 validators and 100 million stacking. Airdrop Strk in February 2024 also disappointed and, like Zksync, passed -50% from the starting price, but DEFI is growing. Starknet plans to settle accounts on Bitcoin, which can be a game-changer. Starkes do not require Trusted Setup, and Cairo gives a technological advantage, but its complexity scares back developers accustomed to EVM. Pivot on Bitcoin is a risky, but potentially profitable movement – if Bitcoin gets soft forki, like op_cat.

Roadmapa ethereum is it a blow to L2 or a new chance?

Roadmapa Ethereum on 2025, with the upgrade of Pectra, changes dynamics. EIP-7251 and EIP-6110 reduce staking costs and accelerate validation, attracting users to L1. Bloby from EIP-4844 reduced L2 costs, but also their revenues. Ethereum wants to increase the demand for blob space, which can help L1, but for L2 it is a struggle for survival.
Ethereum in 2025 is like a F1 car that really slows down the pace. After a successful PECTRA upgrade, the community is already looking at the next step, i.e. RISC-V or Fusak, i.e. a combination of Fulu and Osaka. But that’s not the end! Roadmapa Ethereum is packed with plans to make the network faster, cheaper and ready for mass adoption.

Source: Messari

RISC-V Virtual Machine (VM)

This is an idea that can change the way smart contracts work on blockchain, increase scalability and open the door for new developers. But what’s up with RISC-V? Why do Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum team whisper about it? RISC-V is an open-source architecture of the instructions (ISA), which revolutionized the world of technology. Unlike traditional architecture, such as X86 or ARM, RISC-V is free, modular and available to everyone-everyone can modify it without paying a license.

Vitalik Buterin mentioned RISC-V in 2024 at Devcon in Bangkok, and in 2025 the topic gained momentum. Why? EVM, although powerful, has restrictions because it is based on 256-bit architecture, which hinders optimization for modern processors (64-bit). RISC-V offers simplicity, less resource consumption and flexibility, which can accelerate the performance of smart contracts, reduce gas costs and attract developers from outside the Solidity ecosystem. It’s like replacing the engine in an old car with a newer, lighter and more economical.

RISC-V is designed for minimalism, and its instructions are simple, which reduces the consumption of computing resources. Compared to EVM, which requires large amounts of gas for complex operations, RISC-V according to the Ethereum Foundation team can reduce costs by up to 20-30%. This is crucial for L1, which after Pectra and Fusace wants to be cheaper and faster. For L2, like Base or Arbitrum, this means a lower load when settling transactions on L1.

Fusaka – what is it and what does it bring?

Fusaka is another big hard fork ethereum, planned for Q3 or Q4 2025 (September -October, although it can move to 2026 due to tests). The name connects “Fulu” (star in the constellation of Cassiopea, for the layer of consensus) and “Osaka” (a city in Japan where Devcon takes place). Fusaka builds on the foundation of Pectra, introducing changes to increase scalability and reduce costs, especially for L2, such as Base, Arbitrum or Starknet. Key elements are:

1. Peerdas (EIP-7594) – Peer data availability sampling is a revolution in data management. Instead of downloading all the “blobs” of data (introduced in Dencun in 2024), the nodes will only check their fragments, which will reduce the hardware requirements and allow you to increase the band’s bandwidth from 6 to even 48–72 per block. Effect? L2 will be cheaper (fees below 0.01 USD) and faster, which is supported by DEFs, games and NFT. Vitalik Buterin wants Testnet Fusaki to move right after Pectra.
2. Blob parameters only hardfork (EIP-7892) – enables flexible adaptation of blob parameters without full upgrades, which will allow you to quickly respond to L2 demand. This is crucial, because L2 (e.g. Base does 3-5x more transactions than L1) need more data.
3. Deterministic Proposer Lookhead (EIP-7917) – Preliminary planning of blocks of blocks for several eras ahead, which facilitates L2 sequencing optimization.

Fusaka is a step to allow Ethereum to handle thousands of transactions per second by L2, while maintaining decentralization. Devnet-1 tests with 8 EIPs, Devnet-2 with additional 4) are already underway, but delays are possible. As you know, Ethereum is famous for moving terms because Pectra was to be in Q4 2024, and landed in May 2025.

Glamsterdam right after fusace?

After the Fusace Ethereum Foundation, it plans an upgrade with the working name “Glamsterdam” (from the star Gloss and Amsterdam, i.e. another city where Devcon takes place), initially at the end of 2026. This is a more distant plan, but it already raises emotions. The key element is:

1. Verku Trees – They will replace Merle Trees, optimizing network state management. Verku Trees will reduce the size of the data needed to verify, which will reduce the requirements for nodes and accelerate synchronization. This is a step towards “Stateless” Ethereum, where nodes do not have to store the entire state of blockchain.
2. Potential scaling – Glamsterdam can continue to increase the blobs or introduce more sharing elements so that L2 can process even more transactions.

What are the roads for L2 and how can they get out of oppression?

L2 are at a crossroads. Old tricks, such as token (unichain, spent USD 15.1 million in Uni for 383.8 thousand USD) or wide partnerships, do not work.

1. Distribution partnerships, such as Optimism from Base because it generated as much as 74% of revenues, but the cost was considerable … USD 187.7 million, partnerships are expensive and act only for giants, like Robinhood.
2. Specialization is a future like Hyperliquid, which generates $ 70.2 million fees per month! Arbitrum Stylus (Rust), World Chain (Proof-of-Personhood) or Immutable ZKEVM, i.e. games they are trying, but need liquidity and developers.
3. Pivot on Bitcoin can be a game changer. Bitcoin L1 does not support smart contracts, so L2 have an open path. Starknet plans to settle accounts on Bitcoin, which can attract liquidity with BTC. Problem? Technical barriers, such as the lack of op_cat, can delay plans for years.

Ethereum L2 is a typical rollercoaster and fight in a cage for your position. Base dominates, Arbitrum and Optimism are pushing, and Zksync and Starknet are looking for their place. Roadmapa Ethereum (Pectra, Blob Space, RISC-V) makes L1 cheaper, receiving L2 users. Base scoops 67% of fees, but the rest barely zip, and the tokens are overvalued. Fusaka and future upgrades, like Glambsterdam, will have a huge impact on Layer 2, which are still the spine of the scalability of Ethereum so it is worth observing how this topic is developing. Track messages to X and observe whether Ethereum will fulfill their promises and introduce newer updates.

Many people complained about the ETH network because of high fees but times are changing and everyone is trying to adapt to the expectations of users. Today Ethereum is much better than a year ago but all L2 got a solid blow. I also believe that the whole market except Bitcoin has gone through a few hard months and it can be seen in the BTC domination charts. If the interest rates in the USA are finally reduced, it should give all the altcoins light, the domination of BTC will start to fall, ETH will return to the game. And this will automatically reflect a positive ricochet throughout the L2 sector and the results of these projects will improve significantly.