Polygon Labs CEO Criticizes Layer-3 Networks, Highlights Risks

Table of Contents

• Not A Fan Of Layer-3 Networks 
• Not Everyone Agrees 
• Degen Chain’s Staggering Success 

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron has heavily criticized Layer-3 networks for drawing value and security away from Ethereum, leading to a potential risk to security on the network. 

The criticism comes as meme coin trading activity has seen exponential growth on Degen, a Layer-3 network running on Base, which in turn runs on Ethereum. 

Not A Fan Of Layer-3 Networks 

Boiron denounced Layer-3 networks, citing their potential risks to the security of Ethereum. The comments come as a new Layer-3 network launched by Syndicate using Arbitrum’s Orbit, Degen Chain, garnering considerable attention among users and an equal amount of criticism. The Degen Chain primarily caters to users of the Farcaster Web3 platform. Early investors into the platform saw significant profits, with one turning $7000 into more than $2 million. 

However, despite its staggering success, it has come under criticism from Boiron, who argues that Layer-3 networks divert value away from Ethereum’s base layer. 

“I’ll say the quiet part out loud: L3s exist only to take value away from Ethereum and onto the L2s on which the L3s are built. *You do not need L3s to scale* And this is why Polygon Labs does not work on L3s.”

Boiron further stated, 

“If all L3s settled to one L2, then Ethereum would capture basically no value and, thus, Ethereum security would be at risk.”

Not Everyone Agrees 

However, not everyone agrees with Boiron’s views, including OxWenMoon, one of the most prominent voices in the blockchain space. OxWenMoon responded to Boiron, stating, 

“I don’t think this is right, but even assuming it is, there is no such thing as “taking value away from Ethereum and onto the L2s”. L2s on Ethereum ARE value on Ethereum.”

Degen Chain’s Staggering Success 

The Degen Chain was launched as an ultra-low-cost network for the DEGEN token. The token has now become the de facto community token for Farcaster users. Farcaster is seeing unprecedented levels of success, with its parent company now eyeing a unicorn valuation. This has led to early Degen adopters turning their modest investments into millions. One such early adopter saw an initial investment of $7000 transformed into a staggering $2 million. 

Farcaster’s surge in activity levels indicates a growing interest in Layer-3 networks, with Degen users making it one of the first Layer-3 chains to achieve notable mainstream adoption. On the other hand, Polygon Labs is known for a number of Layer-2 scaling solutions, including the Polygon and Polygon xkEVM chains. Polygon Labs recently experienced considerable downtime with its Polygon xkEVM chain. However, it has since resumed operations. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.