Solana Co-Founder Slams L2s, Advocates L1's Superior Speed and Security

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has openly criticized the development of Layer-2 solutions, arguing that Layer-1 blockchains are inherently faster, cheaper, and more secure. He claims that as long as a single L2 can handle parallel execution, additional L2s become redundant, given the finite number of valuable smart contracts and execution environments available. Yakovenko also pointed out that Solana’s design, which generates around 80 terabytes of data per year, demonstrates that high throughput can be maintained without the complexities introduced by multiple L2 layers. His comments come at a time when the performance of Ethereum’s L2 solutions is under scrutiny, as evidenced by a 95% drop in Ethereum’s quarterly transaction revenue from L2s since its record high in late 2021. While he acknowledges that the Ethereum mainnet remains robust, Yakovenko’s strong stance highlights the potential risks and inefficiencies associated with relying on L2 solutions for scalability. This perspective is stirring debate within the crypto community regarding the future of blockchain scalability, security, and transaction efficiency.