$ETH
Ethereum Is Killing the L2 Boom by Fixing Itself
Blast, Abstract, Polygon zkEVM, Loopring, Zero, Mint, Swellchain, Sophon and others are shutting down or winding down in 2026.
The common problem?
The economics no longer work.
As Ethereum becomes cheaper, faster and more scalable, many standalone L2s lose the main reason they existed: providing cheaper blockspace and reducing Ethereumâs limitations.
This is the part the market is missing.
Ethereum is fixing the weaknesses that created the L2 boom in the first place.
Cheaper data availability reduces L2 operating costs, while better throughput and infrastructure make it less necessary for every app, wallet, NFT ecosystem or payment product to launch its own chain.
So L2 shutdowns don't necessarily mean Ethereum is losing.
They can mean the opposite:
Ethereum is becoming strong enough that fewer L2s are needed to support it.
The next phase may not be a world of hundreds of Ethereum L2s.
It may be a smaller number of dominant networks, with Ethereum itself becoming increasingly capable of handling more of the activity.
#CryptoNewsđđ°đ«
Ethereum Is Killing the L2 Boom by Fixing Itself
Blast, Abstract, Polygon zkEVM, Loopring, Zero, Mint, Swellchain, Sophon and others are shutting down or winding down in 2026.
The common problem?
The economics no longer work.
As Ethereum becomes cheaper, faster and more scalable, many standalone L2s lose the main reason they existed: providing cheaper blockspace and reducing Ethereumâs limitations.
This is the part the market is missing.
Ethereum is fixing the weaknesses that created the L2 boom in the first place.
Cheaper data availability reduces L2 operating costs, while better throughput and infrastructure make it less necessary for every app, wallet, NFT ecosystem or payment product to launch its own chain.
So L2 shutdowns don't necessarily mean Ethereum is losing.
They can mean the opposite:
Ethereum is becoming strong enough that fewer L2s are needed to support it.
The next phase may not be a world of hundreds of Ethereum L2s.
It may be a smaller number of dominant networks, with Ethereum itself becoming increasingly capable of handling more of the activity.
#CryptoNewsđđ°đ«