Centralized sequencers achieve higher throughputs and performance, but they also create severe security risks — illustrated by a $2.6 million exploit on Linea.
Slightly more than 50% of all Ethereum-based transactions happened on layer-2s (L2s) in the first half of June 2024. It was the first time Ethereum (ETH) L2s outperformed layer-1s (L1s) in terms of transaction counts.
The rollup-centric Dencun (EIP-4844) upgrade played a key role in catalyzing the growth of Ethereum L2s. The L2 ecosystem’s TVL reached $48.2 billion — an all-time high — shortly after EIP-4844’s mainnet implementation. Over 90% of this TVL came from rollups.
But while Dencun makes a wider range of data available to rollups, it won’t solve their inherent problems. Most rollups still use centralized sequencers to achieve higher throughputs and performance.
