"Ethereum Layer 3 undermines mainnet security," Polygon CEO says in controversial remarks.
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, the developer of Ethereum's Layer 2 network Polygon, has sparked controversy by publicly sniping at Layer 3 networks as unnecessary technology. "Layer 3 is not needed to scale Ethereum and exists only to steal value from the mainnet," Boiron wrote on social media outlet X (Twitter) on Monday (local time). He also made it clear that Polygon Labs is not developing Ethereum Layer 3 because it's not needed to scale the existing network. Layer 3 only takes value from the Ethereum mainnet and layer 2, he said.
Layer 3 networks, also known as AppChains, are blockchain networks that specialize in single dApps. According to Coingape, Boiron acknowledged the value of Layer 2s on Ethereum, but disagreed that Layer 2 value is of the same order of magnitude as Ethereum. "If all Layer 3s are concentrated on one Layer 2, Ethereum will be basically worthless and Ethereum security will be at risk," he said, "which is why Polygon Labs is not developing Layer 3s." In Boyron's view, if Ethereum stops generating fees and there's no prospect of generating fees beyond a single layer 2, Ethereum's value will decline. Under such a scenario, he says, Ethereum could become less secure as validators abandon the network's security.
His comments are likely to spark debate in the crypto community. Peter Haymond, one of the community members working on Ethereum scalability solutions, responded that Layer 3 offers many benefits and doesn't necessarily take away value from Ethereum. Voron's jab at Layer 3 was prompted by the fact that Degen Chain, a syndicated project using Avitrum Orbit, has generated significant investor interest.
The Degen Network targets users of the Web3 social networking platform, Farkaster, and provides a very low-cost way to trade Degen tokens (DEGEN). While Parkster has seen record user activity and increased interest in Layer 3 chains, Borion is questioning the long-term impact of Layer 3 on the Ethereum ecosystem, CryptoTimes reports. Unlike Polygon Labs, Ethereum Layer 2 network Avitrum and others are accelerating their Layer 3 efforts.
