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Layer 2 & Scaling

Layer 2 networks sit on top of a base chain (usually Ethereum or Bitcoin) and process transactions off the main chain, then settle back to it. The result is far lower fees and higher throughput while inheriting the base layer's security.

The main families are optimistic rollups (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base), zk-rollups (zkSync, Starknet, Polygon zkEVM), and Bitcoin scaling layers (Lightning, Liquid, Merlin). Scaling is one of the most active areas of crypto engineering.

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