Ethereum Layer 2 Networks Process More Transactions Than Mainnet for First Time

In a historic milestone for the Ethereum ecosystem, Layer 2 scaling solutions collectively processed more transactions than the Ethereum mainnet for the first time ever. Data from L2Beat shows that networks including Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and zkSync handled over 5.2 million transactions in a single day, compared to 4.8 million on the base layer.

The shift marks the culmination of years of development in rollup technology. Arbitrum One leads the pack with over 1.8 million daily transactions, followed by Base with 1.4 million. Transaction fees on these L2s average just a few cents, compared to $2-5 on mainnet during peak congestion.

Vitalik Buterin hailed the achievement as validation of Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap. “This is exactly what we envisioned when we began prioritizing Layer 2 development,” he wrote in a blog post. “Ethereum’s future is modular, scalable, and accessible to everyone.”