Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, raised serious concerns about the security and decentralization of Ethereum’s layer-2 networks in a recent debate.

Yakovenko argues that these networks come with a significant attack surface and contain immense codebases that are challenging to audit for bugs. He noted that users’ funds might be transferred without consent from layer-2 networks that depend on multi-signature custody.

“The claim that layer-2s inherit ETH security is erroneous,” Yakovenko stated during the discussion. He elaborated:

“5 years into the L2 roadmap, wormhole ETH on Solana has the same worst-case risks as ETH on base and generates as much revenue for ETH L1 stakers. It’s wrong no matter how you slice it.”
(Translation: This underscores the potential risks inherent in these networks.)

The dialogue surrounding Ethereum’s scaling networks remains active, with various stakeholders evaluating whether they support or undermine Ethereum’s original blockchain.

Are there too many Ethereum layer-2 networks?

Currently, there are 129 verified Ethereum layer-2 networks, according to L2Beat, alongside 29 unverified networks. The blockchain industry is reported to have about ten times more layer-2 solutions than necessary, according to Adrian Brink from Anoma.

While some, like Igor Mandrigin from Gateway.fm, believe that the surge in layer-2 networks signifies healthy growth for Ethereum, others warn that this proliferation may fragment liquidity and diminish earnings on the base layer due to lower transaction costs.

Anurag Arjun from Avail echoed similar concerns, stating that each Ethereum L2 serves as a high-throughput blockchain, potentially offering various options for Ethereum users.