Over the past year, enthusiasm for Layer 2 rollups — long praised for their scalability, lower fees, and rapid launches — has significantly cooled off. 

Over 140 L2s are live, yet fewer than half exceed $10M in TVL, fueling consensus that the ecosystem is oversaturated, with Ethereum’s underperformance further dampening the mood. Meanwhile, “alt” L1s  — most notably Solana, though also Sui and Hyperliquid — have demonstrated remarkable economic potential in both fundamental growth and token price, prompting many to consider a fresh L1 more compelling than yet another L2.