Say goodbye to being all-encompassing; the breakthrough path for Layer 2 lies in "verticalization."

A very meaningful perspective, this seems to be a positive interpretation of the significance of Ethereum layer 2 that has not been seen for a long time: the true value of layer 2s is as an "experimental innovation sandbox".

For example, Arbtrium can explore DAO governance, Optimism can implement a RetroPGF funding mechanism, Base can attempt CEX integration, ZKSync can promote account abstraction, and so on. If these innovations were directly implemented on the mainnet, the risks would be too high, but on layer2, even if they fail, it won't jeopardize the entire ecosystem.

Interestingly, it seems that different layer 2 solutions can serve completely different user groups, such as enterprise chains that focus on compliance, privacy chains that advocate for censorship resistance, and gaming chains that can achieve high-frequency trading, among others.

It seems that upon review, there are indeed quite a few layer2+layer3 solutions built on various types of Stack stacks. Although none of them have become the expected saviors for Ethereum to attract traffic and provide a lifeline, they have indeed made significant contributions to the "diversity" of experimental scalability solutions.

Of course, one could say that they are ultimately all about issuing tokens, but there is an underlying logic: they have at least to some extent maintained and inherited the decentralized security characteristics of Ethereum.

Otherwise, using the current star product Hyperliquid and the independent exclusive chain layer1 thinking that some Wall Street Giant enterprises want to pursue, although it can achieve a smooth upgrade in experience, essentially sacrifices decentralization for extreme performance. Moreover, these independent chains are also likely to issue tokens, and what they do may not be fundamentally different from layer2, or even worse. However, this step is a complete denial of the layer2 experimental field.

Therefore, there is actually a very clear path in front of layer2, which is to abandon the large and comprehensive thinking of General-Purpose chains. The right way is to explore Specific-Chains under the new Mass Adoption demand, such as how to introduce well-known game IPs, how to meet the needs of privacy transactions and compliance, how to serve the high-frequency interaction needs of AI Agents, and how to provide compliant on-boarding channels for RWA assets, etc.

In other words, as long as Layer 2s abandon the pure technical architecture's internal competition, discard the obsession with a comprehensive general chain, and focus on integrating with TradFi's business, the situation for Layer 2 may not be as pessimistic as everyone thinks.