Layer 1 — The Surface

layer2.wiki

A grimoire of scaling solutions, discovered in amethyst caverns beneath the chain.

Descend
BASE LAYER CONSENSUS ROLLUPS CHANNELS
Layer 2 — Rollups

Compressing Reality

Optimistic Rollups

Transactions are assumed valid by default. Fraud proofs emerge only when a watcher challenges — a system built on trust until proven otherwise, like candlelight that reveals only what it touches.

ZK-Rollups

Validity proofs are generated for every batch. Mathematical certainty replaces social trust — each proof a crystalline structure, perfect and self-contained, needing no witness.

BATCH COMPRESSION
Layer 3 — State Channels

Whispered Transactions

Payment Channels

Two parties open a channel, exchange signed states off-chain like passing notes in a dark library. Only the final balance touches the base layer — a whisper that becomes a shout only at settlement.

State Channel Networks

Routes weave through intermediaries like candlelight bouncing between mirrors in a cave system. Each hop is trustless, each path discovered dynamically.

Layer 4 — Plasma & Sidechains

Parallel Caverns

Plasma Chains

Child chains anchored to the root — each one a separate cavern system connected by a single, narrow passage. Data availability remains the guardian at the gate.

Sidechains

Independent consensus, bridged assets. A sovereign territory that trades security guarantees for sovereignty — an embassy of the base layer, not a province.

TREE TOPOLOGY
Layer 5 — The Deep Archive

Terminus

Finality
The point at which a transaction becomes irreversible — the moment the candle wax hardens and the seal is set.
Data Availability
The guarantee that transaction data can be retrieved by any participant — light reaching every corner of the cavern.
Validity Proof
A cryptographic attestation that a state transition is correct — a gem that proves its own authenticity.
Sequencer
The entity that orders transactions within a rollup — the librarian who decides which tome is shelved first.