TL;DR
- Scroll Surpasses $1 Billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), Standing Out Among Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions
- Airdrop farming has been a key factor in the protocol’s growth, attracting users without a native token.
- Vitalik Buterin expresses concerns about the complexity of layer 2 solutions.
Scroll has achieved remarkable growth in the Ethereum Layer 2 solutions space by surpassing $1 billion in total value locked (TVL), consolidating its position as a leader in this space.
This significant increase has been particularly impressive in the past month, with its TVL doubling from $435 million on June 15 to over $1 billion, according to data from DefiLlama.
This progress was further highlighted when compared to other Layer 2 solutions: Base TVL increased by only 4%, Blast experienced a 42% drop, and Linea had a modest 3% increase.
Airdrop farming has been a primary driver behind Scroll’s rapid rise.
As one of the few layer 2 solutions without a native token, Scroll has attracted a user base eager to earn future rewards.
The protocol’s points program, launched on April 17, introduced “Marks” – points that users can earn by transferring assets on-chain during “Session Zero”.
On June 21, Scroll advanced to Session One of its Marks program, offering Marks to users who deposit assets into specific protocols within the network, such as Ambient and Nuri.
The formula “Marks = Value x Action x Time” has encouraged constant user participation on the platform.
Additionally, the protocol, a Layer 2 zkEVM scaling solution, launched its mainnet in October 2023.
The project has raised $80 million in funding across multiple rounds led by Polychain Capital, reaching a valuation of $1.8 billion.
While the points program has increased user activity significantly, Scroll is not the only Layer 2 solution employing these tactics.
Both Base and Linea are speculated to launch native tokens, with their own points programs in the works.
The Scroll Strategy and the Complexity of Layer 2 Solutions
Despite the recent drop in performance of newly launched Layer 2 tokens, Scroll continues to attract users.
The Pencils and Nuri protocols have emerged as two of the most dynamic within their ecosystem.
Pencils offers a yield aggregation platform, while Nuri operates as a decentralized exchange (DEX), contributing to Scroll’s continued growth.
In a broader context, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed concerns about the increasing complexity of layer-2 scaling solutions.
Buterin has highlighted the potential risks associated with overly complex layer-2 networks, advocating for a more balanced approach to the development of blockchain ecosystems.
The prevailing belief in the blockchain community is that layer-1 networks should prioritize simplicity to minimize the risk of critical bugs and attack vectors.
Consequently, Layer 2 networks, designed to provide scaling solutions, must handle more complex features, grouping transactions executed on a separate network and sending them in batches for validation on Layer 1, thus improving performance and reducing transaction fees.
Currently, Scroll’s TVL stands at $645.11 Million, with a volume of $23.25 Million over the last 24 hours and inflows of $5.05 Million over the same period.
Additionally, Scroll has 136,476 active addresses in the last 24 hourss, underscoring the continued activity and interest in this Layer 2 solution.
Scroll’s ability to attract and maintain an active user base will be crucial to its long-term success in the competitive Ethereum scaling solutions space.
