What is a layer 2?

A network that does the work elsewhere and posts the result to a bigger chain, so users share one settlement cost.

A busy chain is expensive because block space is scarce. A layer 2 processes transactions on its own system and periodically posts compressed proof of them back to the main chain, so thousands of users share the cost of one settlement.

The result is transfers that cost a fraction of the base network, settling in seconds, while still inheriting much of the security of the chain underneath.

What to know practically: each layer 2 is its own network with its own addresses and its own bridge in and out, so the wrong-network mistake applies here as much as anywhere. Moving funds back to the main chain can take time, sometimes a week on certain designs, and that delay is a deliberate part of how they stay safe.

Layer 2 and rollup define the terms; the network table lists what each one costs.

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.