Ethereum Layer 2 Application Specific Rollups and Their Future.

Time for a post about Application Specific Rollups + General Purpose Rollups on how they often get lumped together, even though they couldn't be more different, and how they are complimentary not in competition.

In 6 months-a-year, you're going to hear non-stop about zkEVMs. They really are the endgame for Ethereum scaling on L2 + I couldn't be more excited for this but this often leads people to believe that App Specific rollups will be left behind - this couldn't be more wrong.

General Purpose L2's on Ethereum - like Optimism, Arbitrum (OP rollups), Scroll, Polygon + Taiko (zkEVMs) - are all trying to do one thing (in different ways): Basically, reproduce Ethereum, but on a faster + cheaper L2 environment, still tied to Ethereum L1 for security.

If successful, this will be great for Ethereum. Ethereum, as it is today, will all move to Layer 2, and Ethereum will be a viable option to power all of crypto all in one place. There will be no need for competing L1s aka "ETH killers".

But what about Application Specific rollups? I think calling them all rollups confuses people, because it somewhat implies they are all trying to do the same thing. They are not - they compliment eachother, they do not compete with eachother. General Purpose rollups are trying to reproduce Ethereum on L2 - they are for devs to build apps on. App-Specific rollups are completely different - they are like complete, vertically integrated super apps/ecosystems. They are for end users to experience the power of crypto.

If/when General Purpose rollups (likely zkEVMs) are successful on Ethereum L2 + bring all of Ethereum to L2. I actually envision a world where almost all of the biggest applications in the world - like the Twitters, PayPals, Ubers, etc - all become L3s on top of zkEVMs.

Loopring for example, is trying to be one of these super apps - a one stop shop for all things crypto - decentralized finance (DeFi) + NFTs in one place for the end user. Finally bringing the meme of "Being your own Bank" to reality. This could become reality on L3.

If you want to build a Web3 super app, harnessing the power of crypto for the world, you will have a choice:

• Build it directly on Ethereum L2 - on top of a general purpose rollup - fast + cheap option, but it won't be optimized for your specific products / applications.

OR

-Build a vertically integrated super app on L3 - inside your custom made rollup that can be highly optimized + customized for your specific products / applications.

These rollups can submit their proofs directly to L2 instead of L1, making them even faster + cheaper.

This also gives Web 2 companies a chance to come to Web3 - the next frontier. Most of Web2, if they want to compete in the future, will want to be a part of Web3, and will want an environment that is highly customizable + optimizable for their end users.

This is where application-specific rollups shine. Loopring has already proven this with GameStop helping power their new thriving NFT Marketplace. I expect many more big names to follow suit into Web3 - and most won't want to build their own rollups.

So in conclusion, while everyone is talking about general purpose rollups + scaling Ethereum on L2, try not to forget about Application Specific rollups - they are just getting started also I am extremely excited for the future of both.

General Purpose rollups (likely zkEVMs) are going to be the endgame for Ethereum scaling through L2. They will take all of Ethereum to Layer 2 - making Ethereum THE place to be for all things crypto (DeFi, NFTs, DAOs + every other future use case) No other L1s needed.

App-Specific rollups, like Loopring will likely live on L3, creating vertically integrated, end-user focused super apps. End users will eventually not even realize they are using crypto - all of this should be abstracted away. Creating a Web2 user experience on Web3.