# Layer 2 Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Layer 2", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

Base's New Token Issuance Gateway B20: What Assets Does It Aim to Accommodate?

Base, a layer-2 blockchain, is developing B20, a native token standard designed to be a foundational tool for asset issuance. It serves as an ERC-20 compatible, pre-compiled system built directly into Base's infrastructure, offering faster speeds and lower costs than standard smart contracts. The core innovation lies in its robust control features for issuers. B20 enables granular role-based access control for functions like minting or pausing, alongside policy registries for whitelists and blacklists to restrict transfers. It also supports transaction memos for linking on-chain actions to off-chain records. These features are particularly targeted at stablecoin providers, Real World Asset (RWA) tokenizers, and other projects needing compliant, controllable, and low-cost token creation. However, its launch on the mainnet was recently delayed following network stability issues, underscoring its critical importance as a core network upgrade. B20 provides the tools for controlled issuance, but the responsibility for implementing specific compliance rules remains with the asset issuers themselves.

Foresight News9h ago

Base's New Token Issuance Gateway B20: What Assets Does It Aim to Accommodate?

Foresight News9h ago

‘Halt is not okay’ – All about Base and its consensus problem

Base, a Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network, experienced a significant consensus issue for nearly 48 hours, halting deposit and withdrawal functions. The problem began on June 25th when an invalid block was sequenced, leading to "unhealthy" mainnet block production. While withdrawals were partially degraded, deposits faced a "major outage." Base co-founder Jesse Pollak assured users that all funds were safe but emphasized that such a chain halt is unacceptable, vowing to improve the platform's reliability for 24/7 global finance. This disruption occurs as Base aims to expand into tokenized asset lending and borrowing, despite having achieved substantial growth with over $184M in cumulative revenue and $4B in Total Value Locked (TVL). The incident's impact on user confidence remains to be seen.

ambcrypto06/27 04:40

‘Halt is not okay’ – All about Base and its consensus problem

ambcrypto06/27 04:40

Glue Finance Founder: ETH Has Entered a Phase of Non-Consensus, an Inflection Point Is Approaching

Glue Finance founder argues that Ethereum's current price underperformance, despite high on-chain activity, stems from its incomplete state and lingering dependency on central stewards like the Ethereum Foundation. The core thesis is that the market is discounting ETH not for lack of use, but because the protocol remains a "machine under construction." Key unresolved issues include centralized L2 sequencers with limited escape hatches, state bloat, vulnerable public mempools, and the looming quantum computing threat. This perpetual "work-in-progress" status forces reliance on a small group of maintainers, undermining the network's promise of credible neutrality and immutability. The author, a self-described Ethereum maximalist, rejects two flawed paths: a "wartime mode" of centralizing for speed (surrendering Ethereum's unique value) or merely replacing the Foundation with another governing entity. The only solution is to complete and then "freeze" the protocol's neutral core through a focused "Manhattan Project" dubbed "Lean Ethereum." This project aims to bundle critical upgrades—consensus layer overhaul, massive scaling via ZK-proofs, quantum resistance, and statelessness—into a decisive push to finalize the base layer. Once the core rules are cryptographically solidified and beyond anyone's control (passing the "walk-away test"), Ethereum would shed its dependency discount and earn a "rigidity premium" for its credible neutrality and programmability, potentially surpassing Bitcoin's valuation. The race is between completing this hardening and the risks of protocol capture or stagnation.

链捕手06/26 10:11

Glue Finance Founder: ETH Has Entered a Phase of Non-Consensus, an Inflection Point Is Approaching

链捕手06/26 10:11

Base Halts for Two Hours: A Single Invalid Block Reveals the Centralized Reality of L2s

Base, an Ethereum Layer-2 Rollup, experienced a two-hour network outage starting around 00:03 UTC on June 26. The halt was caused by a consensus issue that led to an invalid block being sequenced, which prevented the generation of new blocks after block 47806542. The team identified the problem, restored block sequencing by 01:51 UTC, and confirmed full recovery of ecosystem infrastructure synchronization shortly after. This incident highlights the operational reality for many L2s: while they leverage Ethereum for security and data availability, their day-to-day usability heavily depends on their sequencer and internal systems. Base employs a high-availability sequencer system with one active leader, but this setup did not prevent the outage when a consensus-level problem arose. This follows a previous 33-minute outage in August 2025 related to a faulty sequencer handover process. The downtime occurred near the scheduled activation window for the "Beryl" network upgrade, which has since been postponed. Beryl introduces the native B20 token standard, among other improvements. The incident has sparked renewed discussion about Base potentially launching its own network token in the future, shifting the conversation from mere speculation to questions about how a token might relate to sequencer decentralization, governance, and accountability in such failure scenarios.

Foresight News06/26 06:42

Base Halts for Two Hours: A Single Invalid Block Reveals the Centralized Reality of L2s

Foresight News06/26 06:42

21Shares Mid-Year Key Report: Bitcoin's Four-Year Cycle Remains Intact, Stablecoins and Tokenization Emerge as New Growth Engines

21Shares Mid-Year Report 2026: Bitcoin Cycle Intact, Stablecoins & Tokenization Emerge as New Engines This mid-year review assesses progress against 21Shares' ten predictions for 2026. While the overarching shift from narrative to fundamentals holds, performance varies. Key findings show Bitcoin's four-year cycle remains evident despite market maturation. Global crypto ETP AUM has declined to ~$140B, lagging the $400B target, though product innovation continues. Stablecoin supply surpassed $320B, demonstrating non-cyclical demand but falling short of the $1T forecast due to slower regulatory clarity. DeFi TVL, stalled at ~$140B, was hindered by major security incidents. Corporate crypto treasuries hold ~1.28M BTC ($100B), with consolidation pressuring weaker players. Prediction markets are on track, with $57.5B volume already surpassing half the $100B annual target. AI agent infrastructure is ready, but adoption is early. Ethereum L2 consolidation is underway, with the top 5 capturing nearly 90% of activity. Compliant token launches have a platform but lack mainstream volume. Tokenized RWAs total ~$31B on public chains, but institutional pipeline growth is strong. In summary, fundamentals like stablecoins, tokenization, and prediction markets are advancing, but targets require faster adoption or price appreciation. The market is maturing, yet cyclical patterns persist.

marsbit06/25 03:26

21Shares Mid-Year Key Report: Bitcoin's Four-Year Cycle Remains Intact, Stablecoins and Tokenization Emerge as New Growth Engines

marsbit06/25 03:26

Ethlabs Founded, Treasury Companies to Fund Ethereum Post-EF

Former Ethereum Foundation (EF) core researchers Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma announced the launch of Ethlabs, an independent non-profit R&D lab focused on Ethereum core protocol research and institutional-grade infrastructure. The initiative, backed by over 50 community participants including ETH treasury companies BitMine and Sharplink, Joseph Lubin, Hayden Adams, and Jesse Pollak, aims to make Ethereum the global economic settlement layer. This move comes amidst significant pressure on the EF, which has seen key departures and a strategic narrowing of its focus. A critical funding gap of approximately $30 million annually for core client development, following the expiration of the client incentive program, poses a near-term risk to the network's development. The context includes the evolution of ETH's value narrative. While mechanisms like EIP-1559 and the Merge previously supported the "ultrasound money" thesis, the success of L2 scaling via EIP-4844 has drastically reduced L1 fee revenue, leading to net ETH issuance and challenging that narrative. Ethlabs has listed ETH monetary economics as a primary research focus. Backing from corporate ETH treasuries like BitMine and Sharplink represents a strategic alignment, as these entities' asset values are directly tied to Ethereum's health and adoption. Their support is an investment rather than a pure donation. Ethereum's governance is shifting from a centralized EF model to a distributed network of specialized "manager nodes," including Ethlabs and a streamlined EF. While this promotes efficiency and reduces single-point failure risk, it introduces new challenges in coordination, priority alignment, and filling critical funding gaps across the decentralized ecosystem.

Foresight News06/23 06:50

Ethlabs Founded, Treasury Companies to Fund Ethereum Post-EF

Foresight News06/23 06:50

Up Over 130% in a Month, Steadily Among Top Ethereum Blob Consumers—How Real is World Chain's Growth?

World Chain, the Layer-2 blockchain developed by the Worldcoin project, has demonstrated significant recent growth despite a generally competitive and challenging L2 landscape. Its native token, WLD, surged over 130% in a month, driven by institutional holdings (notably from Eightco Holdings), increased trading activity from promotional campaigns, and a key upcoming reduction in daily token unlocks starting July 2026. Concurrently, World Chain's on-chain activity soared, with active addresses growing nearly 650% in 30 days and its Total Value Secured (TVS) surpassing $610 million, primarily from bridge inflows. However, its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem remains nascent, with a total value locked (TVL) of only ~$40 million largely concentrated in a single protocol. A standout metric is World Chain's high data usage: it has become the second-largest consumer of Ethereum Blobs (data storage units), trailing only Base. This indicates substantial real-user transaction demand, likely fueled by Worldcoin's identity verification and reward distribution activities on its dedicated chain. While its current growth is fueled by token momentum and bridge capital, World Chain's long-term success depends on converting this activity into a sustainable, diverse on-chain economy.

marsbit06/22 12:19

Up Over 130% in a Month, Steadily Among Top Ethereum Blob Consumers—How Real is World Chain's Growth?

marsbit06/22 12:19

Ethereum 2026 Q1 Review: On-Chain Activity Hits Record Highs, Tokenized Assets Lead the Industry

Ethereum Q1 2026 Review: Record On-Chain Activity, Tokenized Assets Lead the Industry. Despite a price correction impacting USD-denominated metrics, Ethereum's on-chain usage hit all-time highs in Q1 2026. Monthly active addresses surged 85.9% year-over-year to 13.2 million, while L1 transactions and throughput also set new records. This growth occurred alongside a significant 47.9% quarterly drop in L1 transaction fees, demonstrating the impact of network scaling via upgrades like the Blob Parameter Fork. The ecosystem maintained its dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi), holding 71% of the total value locked among top chains and 79.2% of active borrowing. Ethereum solidified its position as the primary platform for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with a total market cap of $203.4B. It holds leading shares in stablecoins (61.8%), tokenized funds (73%), and tokenized commodities (84%) across major chains. Key developments included the ERC-8004 standard for AI agents and heightened institutional engagement at forums. Major financial institutions like BlackRock, JPMorgan, and a European banking consortium announced new tokenized products on Ethereum throughout the period. The report draws parallels to the early internet, suggesting Ethereum is sacrificing short-term fee revenue for long-term network expansion and adoption. Its strategy focuses on becoming a neutral, open settlement layer for global finance, with scaling roadmaps aiming for tens of thousands of TPS by 2029.

marsbit06/18 09:52

Ethereum 2026 Q1 Review: On-Chain Activity Hits Record Highs, Tokenized Assets Lead the Industry

marsbit06/18 09:52

Arbitrum Foundation Funding Proposal Seeks $16M, 1,700 ETH And 230M ARB

The Arbitrum Foundation is seeking substantial new funding through an on-chain governance vote. The proposal, titled "Continued Funding for the Arbitrum Foundation," requests $16 million in real-world assets (RWAs), 1,700 ETH, and 230 million ARB tokens to support its operations for another year beyond the period covered by a previous funding plan. According to a governance roundup, technical costs are projected to make up 54% of all anticipated expenses for 2027, highlighting the ongoing engineering and infrastructure needs of the Arbitrum One and Nova scaling networks. The vote, which closes on June 25, 2026, presents a key decision for ARB token holders on allocating significant treasury resources to the central operating body. The outcome will signal how Arbitrum's DAO balances decentralization with the practical need to fund ecosystem development, partnerships, and technical maintenance. The large request, particularly for native ARB tokens, makes this a sensitive governance moment with potential implications for market sentiment and the network's competitive position in the Ethereum scaling landscape.

bitcoinist06/13 10:35

Arbitrum Foundation Funding Proposal Seeks $16M, 1,700 ETH And 230M ARB

bitcoinist06/13 10:35

Retail Ecology Dwindles, ZKsync Bets on Bank Pilots for a Breakthrough

Amidst declining retail activity, ZKsync is pivoting to target institutional banking as its primary growth strategy. The article explores this shift, contrasting it with the competitive "survival of the fittest" narrative by highlighting a cooperative model inspired by naturalist Peter Kropotkin. ZKsync is developing infrastructure like its private, permissioned Prividium suite for banks (e.g., Deutsche Bank's use case via Memento), enabling private transactions with public verifiability via zero-knowledge proofs. This appeals to institutions needing privacy, compliance, and Ethereum-based settlement security, unlike fully private chains (e.g., JPMorgan's Kinaxis) or consortium models (e.g., R3 Corda). However, this strategic focus has coincided with a steep decline in its public DeFi ecosystem, evidenced by plunging TVL and the departure of major protocols like Aave due to low fees. The network's future now hinges on banking adoption, with upcoming pilots like the Cari Network involving regional banks holding over $600 billion in deposits. A significant challenge is balancing this institutional focus with ZKsync's decentralized governance. Banks must operate on a network where rules and fees (denominated in the volatile ZK token) can be changed via community vote, and where a Security Council holds emergency control—a stark contrast to the predictable, contract-bound environments of traditional finance. The coming 18 months will test whether ZKsync can successfully onboard traditional banks onto a dynamically governed public chain or if institutions will ultimately revert to proprietary solutions.

Foresight News06/12 04:19

Retail Ecology Dwindles, ZKsync Bets on Bank Pilots for a Breakthrough

Foresight News06/12 04:19

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