A question that many of us ask is, how can crypto reach mass adoption with high fees? Well, there is no simple answer to that question because it is no simple question. And the answer depends mainly on your opinion of how the blockchain should be structured. In this blog, we will focus mainly on how we can solve the high transaction fee problem with a layer 2 approach.
What is Layer 2?
So a layer 2 is exactly as it sounds like, it is a second transaction layer that is built on top of the original blockchain. On this layer, transactions will take place so that they will not have to be put on the original blockchain. This process makes it so that a lot of (small) transactions will not have to take place on the main blockchain. Because of this, the transactions can be much cheaper and sometimes also faster.
Cheap transactions with layer 2
Because a layer 2 transaction is not directly put into the blockchain it can save the user a lot on transaction fees. And sometimes even completely remove the transaction fee. This approach should simply answer your question “how can crypto reach mass adoption with high fees”. But how do we use layer 2 and which ones can we use for Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Layer 2 on Bitcoin
Currently, we have the Bitcoin Lightning Network. This is mainly an extra transaction layer on top of Bitcoin that groups transactions together. It does this by transacting multiple times between participants on the network before settling it all in 1 transaction on the main Bitcoin Blockchain. This way the participants can send a lot of transactions back and forward to each other at the price of 1 transaction, saving a lot on transaction fees in the process.
Layer 2 on Ethereum
So far, Ethereum has multiple layer 2 protocols. But depending on your definition of that you may say that it is somewhat less. I say this because there are multiple Blockchains that work with the same infrastructure as Ethereum. These chains can bridge with Ethereum and thus function in some way as a Layer 2 to Ethereum. But some do use a different gas token.
One of the most talked-about ones lately has been Optimism. Optimism does still use the Ether token as its main gas. Making it a bit simpler than the other “Ethereum Sidechains”. Put simply, what optimism essentially does is take the transactions + smart contracts of the Ethereum blockchain. Then runs them on the Optimism virtual machine and lets you, later on, settle it back on the Ethereum main chain if that is preferred.
Not a problem
With layer 2 solutions being more and more adopted. The high fees on the main chains should be less and less of a problem to mass adoption. We believe that most of the users will eventually transact on sidechains and thus think that high main chain fees should not stop mass adoption.
Wallets
So how do you start using layer 2? Well, it’s simple. With a wallet compatible with that layer 2 of course! You can easily filter for them with our wallet filter tool. Just click here to see all Optimism wallets and here for all the Bitcoin Lightning Network wallets.
Thanks for reading!
We hope this article answers the question “how can crypto reach mass adoption with high fees?”. If you have any Questions regarding Blockchain, Bitcoin, or Sidechains? Feel free to ask them on our Facebook or Telegram group. We are happy to help whenever we can! Ready to start using a Crypto wallet?
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