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Answers about Ethereum, L2s and onchain applications

Direct, data-backed answers to common questions about Ethereum and its wider ecosystem. This includes Layer 2s, onchain applications, tokens, and stablecoins. Each answer page is recomputed daily from growthepie's public API and links to the underlying datasets.

Answers to 26 core questions with a total of 397 sub questions.

  1. What is the most popular Data Availability (DA) layer for Ethereum L2s?

    The most popular Data Availability layer for Ethereum L2s today is Ethereum DA itself (via blobs since the Dencun upgrade in March 2024) — the majority of growthepie-tracked L2s post their data to Ethereum mainnet. The remaining L2s split between Celestia, EigenDA, Avail, and a handful of custom DA solutions. By USD fees paid Ethereum DA also leads, because the L2s posting to it have the largest aggregate throughput. On a per-megabyte basis the alt-DA layers (Celestia, EigenDA) are meaningfully cheaper — which is the entire economic motivation for any chain to consider alt-DA. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Data Availability, Layer 2, Blobs, Celestia, EigenDA, Avail, EIP-4844

  2. How many transactions per second does Ethereum (L1 + L2s combined) process?

    The Ethereum ecosystem processes hundreds of transactions per second when you add Ethereum mainnet (L1) and every tracked Layer 2 together. growthepie's real-time ecosystem stream provides the live combined TPS figure; daily, weekly (7-day rolling), monthly (30-day rolling), and all-time counts come from summing per-chain daily series. L2s account for the majority of activity by transaction count — Ethereum mainnet prioritises security and decentralisation over raw throughput. Sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily.

    17 questions answered

    Topics: Ethereum Ecosystem, Throughput, Transaction Count, Layer 1, Layer 2

  3. What percentage of Ethereum activity happens on L2s vs mainnet?

    The majority of Ethereum activity now happens on Layer 2s. growthepie computes the share daily by comparing the L2 ecosystem total against Ethereum mainnet alone — for both transactions (raw count) and throughput (gas processed per second), across daily / weekly / monthly windows. The L2 share has grown steeply since 2022 and accelerated sharply after the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 (EIP-4844 blobs cut L2 settlement cost ~10×). Mainnet retains the role of settlement layer for the entire ecosystem.

    14 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Ethereum Mainnet, Throughput, Transaction Count, Scaling

  4. Base vs Arbitrum: which Ethereum L2 is bigger?

    Base and Arbitrum One are the two largest optimistic rollups on Ethereum, and the closest head-to-head in the L2 landscape. growthepie tracks them side-by-side across transactions (daily/weekly/monthly), daily active addresses, throughput (Mgas/s), TVL, stablecoin market cap, user fees collected, and 30-day profit — plus the architectural context (rollup stack, DA layer, native token, launch date). Each metric is recomputed daily from the same per-chain endpoints, so this answer stays current without manual edits.

    15 questions answered

    Topics: Base, Arbitrum One, Layer 2, Throughput, TVL

  5. Which Ethereum L2 token has the highest market cap?

    Ethereum L2 native tokens (ARB, OP, STRK, MNT, etc.) vary widely in market cap. growthepie tracks market cap and fully-diluted valuation per chain so the comparison is apples-to-apples across the L2 universe. Several major L2s — Base in particular — have no native token by design, and are listed separately rather than ranked with zeros. The ranking reflects market cap × current circulating supply only; activity rankings and value-secured rankings tell different stories.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Economics, L2 Tokens, ARB, OP, Market Cap, FDV

  6. Are Ethereum L2 fees getting cheaper over time?

    Yes — the cross-L2 median user fee has dropped by more than an order of magnitude since the Dencun upgrade (March 2024). Pectra (May 2025) and Fusaka (December 2025) each added another step-down by expanding blob capacity. growthepie computes the cross-L2 median monthly txcost by taking each L2's monthly fee and finding the median across the universe — so each chain contributes equally regardless of volume. The page anchors the trend to specific before/after months around every major upgrade for AI-quotable specificity.

    17 questions answered

    Topics: Transaction Costs, Layer 2, Dencun, Pectra, Fusaka, EIP-4844

  7. Which Ethereum L2 is growing the fastest?

    The fastest-growing Ethereum L2 depends on which metric and which window. growthepie ranks every tracked L2 by month-over-month and quarter-over-quarter growth in throughput, transaction count, and active addresses. We use period-native aggregates so a multi-day user counts once per month (no double-counting from summed dailies), and we filter for minimum current-period activity so a brand-new chain with a tiny baseline can't claim implausible growth. Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    20 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Throughput, Transaction Count, Active Addresses, TVS, Base, Arbitrum One

  8. What did Ethereum's "Fusaka" upgrade change?

    Ethereum's Fusaka hard fork activated on December 3rd, 2025 and bundled 12 EIPs across three goals: scaling blob capacity (PeerDAS plus Blob-Parameter-Only upgrades that tripled the blob target from 6 to 14 by January 2026), scaling L1 execution (EIP-7935 raised the default block gas limit to 60M with a 30M target), and sustainable blob economics (EIP-7918 introduced a floor on blob fees so the 'zero-fee blob era' ends). The net effect is substantially more capacity for L2 rollups, modest L1 headroom, and tighter blob fee economics anchored to L1 execution.

    17 questions answered

    Topics: Ethereum Mainnet, Data Availability, Economics, Fusaka, EIP-7594 PeerDAS, EIP-7918

  9. What did Ethereum's "Pectra" upgrade change?

    Ethereum's Pectra hard fork activated on May 7th, 2025 and bundled 11 EIPs across three goals: doubling blob capacity for L2s (EIP-7691 raised the target from 3 to 6 blobs per block), enabling smart-account features for ordinary wallets (EIP-7702 introduced Set Code / Type 4 transactions, unlocking gas sponsorship, paying fees in non-ETH tokens, and transaction batching), and improving the staking experience (EIP-7251 raised the validator effective stake cap from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH so rewards can compound; EIP-7002 and EIP-6110 simplified the deposit and withdrawal pipeline). Pectra is widely called the 'user experience' upgrade.

    18 questions answered

    Topics: Ethereum Mainnet, Data Availability, Pectra, EIP-7702, EIP-7691, Blob Count

  10. Is Ethereum deflationary?

    Ethereum has two opposing supply forces: EIP-1559 (activated August 2021) burns the base fee of every transaction permanently, while Proof-of-Stake (since The Merge in September 2022) issues new ETH as staking rewards. When burn exceeds issuance, ETH is deflationary; when issuance exceeds burn, it's slightly inflationary. The Merge cut new ETH issuance by ~87% overnight, so even modest network activity often pushes ETH into net-negative supply growth. The answer therefore varies day-to-day with network demand — this page quotes the live annualised rate.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Ethereum Mainnet, Economics, Monetary Policy, EIP-1559, The Merge, Burn

  11. What is the difference between a ZK rollup and an Optimistic rollup?

    ZK rollups and Optimistic rollups are both Ethereum Layer 2s that batch transactions and post data back to mainnet. They differ in how they prove batches are correct: ZK rollups generate cryptographic validity proofs that Ethereum verifies onchain (so batches finalise in minutes); Optimistic rollups assume batches are valid and let anyone challenge them with fraud proofs during a 7-day window. ZK rollups get faster finality and cleaner security guarantees; Optimistic rollups have simpler engineering and (historically) better EVM compatibility. Most newer L2s have chosen ZK, but the biggest L2s by activity today are Optimistic.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, ZK Rollup, Optimistic Rollup, Arbitrum One, OP Mainnet, Base, zkSync Era, Linea

  12. What is the difference between an Ethereum L2 and a sidechain?

    An Ethereum L2 derives security from Ethereum by posting transaction data (or state proofs) back to mainnet — users can recover funds with only Ethereum data if the L2 disappears. A sidechain has its own validator set and its own security, with just a bridge connecting it to Ethereum — if the validators are compromised, Ethereum can't help. Polygon PoS is the most famous sidechain that's often mistaken for an L2; the test is simple: can you recover your funds using only Ethereum data? L2BEAT and growthepie follow the same classification.

    14 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Sidechain, Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, Arbitrum One, Base

  13. Which Ethereum L2 has the most total value secured (TVS)?

    Total value secured (TVS) is the dollar value of all assets bridged to or natively held on an Ethereum L2 — stablecoins, ETH, ERC-20 tokens. It's the standard 'capital weight' metric for L2s, often called TVL elsewhere. This page ranks every tracked Ethereum L2 by current TVS, shows each chain's share of the combined L2 ecosystem total, and tracks 30-day change. Recomputed daily from growthepie's per-chain TVL endpoint.

    15 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, TVS, TVL, Arbitrum One, Base, OP Mainnet

  14. Which Ethereum L2 is the most profitable?

    L2 profit is revenue (fees collected from users) minus L1 settlement cost (rent paid to Ethereum mainnet to post batches and proofs). It's the cleanest measure of which chains are running as sustainable businesses. growthepie tracks this per-day per-chain in USD; this page ranks the top 10 by 30-day profit, with 90-day and all-time columns for context. Recomputed daily.

    15 questions answered

    Topics: Economics, Layer 2, Profit, Revenue

  15. How much does Ethereum mainnet earn from L2s?

    Ethereum L2s pay Ethereum mainnet a settlement fee ("rent") every time they post their batched transaction data and proofs back to L1. growthepie tracks this per-chain, per-day. Summed across all tracked L2s, this is how much Ethereum mainnet earns from the rollup ecosystem. After Dencun (March 2024) per-L2-transaction settlement cost dropped ~10×, then Fusaka (December 2025) tripled blob capacity again. Recomputed daily.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Economics, Layer 2, Ethereum Mainnet, Rent paid, EIP-1559

  16. Which Ethereum L2s are Stage 1 or Stage 2 rollups?

    Three frameworks describe how decentralised an Ethereum L2 is: L2BEAT's strict Stage 0/1/2 classification (protocol-property based), ethereum.org's maturity assessment (the Ethereum Foundation's own per-L2 view, also using the word 'maturity'), and growthepie's 0–3 maturity scale (Early phase / Emerging / Developing / Maturing). All three broadly correlate. This page lists every tracked Ethereum L2 grouped by growthepie's maturity level, with explicit references to L2BEAT and ethereum.org.

    15 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Rollup Stages, Maturity, Decentralisation

  17. What is Data Availability (DA) and what are the differences between providers?

    Data Availability (DA) is the guarantee that a chain's transaction data is publicly accessible — anyone wanting to reconstruct the state can. It's the foundation Ethereum L2s stand on. The main DA providers are Ethereum mainnet itself (via blobs since Dencun), Celestia, EigenDA, and Avail. They differ on cost, throughput, and security model. growthepie tracks live per-megabyte cost for Celestia and EigenDA; Ethereum blob fees are tracked separately in growthepie's DA overview. Ethereum DA inherits Ethereum's full security; alt-DA layers have their own validator sets or restaking-based economic security.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Data Availability, Blobs, Celestia, EigenDA, Avail, EIP-4844, PeerDAS

  18. What was The Merge and how did it change Ethereum?

    The Merge activated on September 15, 2022 and transitioned Ethereum from Proof-of-Work (miners) to Proof-of-Stake (validators). Three immediate effects: new ETH issuance dropped ~87% (~13,000 ETH/day mining rewards → ~1,700 ETH/day staking rewards), energy consumption fell ~99.95% (no more mining hardware), and the conditions for ETH deflation were created — combined with EIP-1559's burn already in place, net-negative ETH issuance became possible during periods of high network activity. The Merge is one of the largest live-system upgrades in software engineering history.

    16 questions answered

    Topics: Ethereum Mainnet, Economics, The Merge, Proof of Stake, Staking, EIP-1559

  19. Which Ethereum L2 has the most smart-account (EIP-7702) activity?

    EIP-7702 (activated with Pectra on May 7, 2025) introduces a new Type 4 / 'Set Code' transaction that lets ordinary Ethereum wallets temporarily act as smart accounts — enabling gas sponsorship, paying gas in non-ETH tokens, and transaction batching. growthepie tracks daily Type 4 transaction counts per chain as the live adoption signal. This page ranks Ethereum L2s by smart-account activity, with Ethereum L1 shown for context. Recomputed daily.

    12 questions answered

    Topics: Pectra, EIP-7702, Smart Accounts, Account Abstraction, Base, OP Mainnet, Arbitrum One, Unichain

  20. Where does most DeFi happen — Ethereum mainnet or L2s?

    DeFi activity has moved to L2s but DeFi capital still concentrates on L1. This page pulls live numbers from growthepie's blockspace overview (the per-chain finance-category transactions + gas, for both L1 and L2 aggregate), per-chain stables_mcap endpoints (L1 vs L2 stablecoin liquidity — the dominant pool of DeFi capital), and the hourly fees table (live swap-fee comparison between L1 and the cheapest L2).

    13 questions answered

    Topics: DeFi, Layer 2, DEX, Lending, Ethereum Mainnet

  21. Which Ethereum L2 has the lowest fees?

    The cheapest Ethereum L2 depends on the fee type and the time horizon. growthepie's live fee table ranks every tracked L2 hourly by four fee metrics — median, native transfer, token swap, and average — and the historical leaderboard ranks by daily / weekly / monthly median fee. Native transfer, swap, and average fees are available live only; median fee is shown across all four time horizons. Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    18 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Fees, Base, Arbitrum One

  22. Which Ethereum L2 has the most stablecoin activity?

    The most stablecoin-active Ethereum L2 depends on what you measure. Supply, transactions, gas spent, and variety each tell different stories. growthepie's live leaderboards rank every tracked L2 across daily / weekly / monthly windows for the first three metrics, plus a static ranking of distinct stablecoin tokens deployed per chain. Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    20 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Stablecoins, Base, Arbitrum One

  23. How many transactions happen on Ethereum L2s?

    Ethereum L2s collectively process hundreds of transactions per second and tens of millions per day. growthepie aggregates the ecosystem-wide daily, weekly (7-day rolling), monthly (30-day rolling), and all-time totals from per-chain data, plus live TPS from the hourly fees table. Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    18 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Transaction Count, Throughput, Base, Arbitrum One

  24. What are the top apps on Ethereum L2s?

    The top app on Ethereum L2s depends on what you measure. growthepie ranks every tracked app across L2s by transaction count, active addresses (summed across chains), and gas fees paid in USD. The headline window is the last 30 days; each app's metrics are summed across every L2 it operates on. Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    17 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Applications, DeFi, Base, Arbitrum One

  25. Is Ethereum scaling through L2s?

    Yes — Ethereum is scaling through L2s, and the data is unambiguous. The L2 ecosystem now processes many times more transactions and significantly more throughput (gas/s) than Ethereum mainnet alone, on every time horizon — daily, weekly, and monthly. This page quotes the exact ratios from growthepie's per-chain timeseries, computed from the `all_l2s` ecosystem aggregate (or per-chain sum as fallback) divided by Ethereum mainnet's standalone value. Recomputed daily.

    18 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Throughput, Transaction Count, Ethereum

  26. What is the most used Ethereum L2?

    The most used Ethereum L2 depends on the metric and the time horizon. growthepie's live leaderboards rank every tracked L2 by throughput (Mgas/s), transaction count, and active addresses — over daily, weekly, and monthly windows. Weekly and monthly active addresses are unique counts over the period, not sums of daily values (so the same wallet active on multiple days is only counted once). Ethereum mainnet and sidechains (e.g. Polygon PoS) are excluded. Recomputed daily from growthepie's public API.

    18 questions answered

    Topics: Layer 2, Throughput, Transaction Count, Daily Active Addresses, Base, Arbitrum One

All answers

  • What is the most popular Data Availability (DA) layer for Ethereum L2s?
  • How many transactions per second does Ethereum (L1 + L2s combined) process?
  • What percentage of Ethereum activity happens on L2s vs mainnet?
  • Base vs Arbitrum: which Ethereum L2 is bigger?
  • Which Ethereum L2 token has the highest market cap?
  • Are Ethereum L2 fees getting cheaper over time?
  • Which Ethereum L2 is growing the fastest?
  • What did Ethereum's "Fusaka" upgrade change?
  • What did Ethereum's "Pectra" upgrade change?
  • Is Ethereum deflationary?
  • What is the difference between a ZK rollup and an Optimistic rollup?
  • What is the difference between an Ethereum L2 and a sidechain?
  • Which Ethereum L2 has the most total value secured (TVS)?
  • Which Ethereum L2 is the most profitable?
  • How much does Ethereum mainnet earn from L2s?
  • Which Ethereum L2s are Stage 1 or Stage 2 rollups?
  • What is Data Availability (DA) and what are the differences between providers?
  • What was The Merge and how did it change Ethereum?
  • Which Ethereum L2 has the most smart-account (EIP-7702) activity?
  • Where does most DeFi happen — Ethereum mainnet or L2s?
  • Which Ethereum L2 has the lowest fees?
  • Which Ethereum L2 has the most stablecoin activity?
  • How many transactions happen on Ethereum L2s?
  • What are the top apps on Ethereum L2s?
  • Is Ethereum scaling through L2s?
  • What is the most used Ethereum L2?