The benefits of L2s
L2s extend Ethereum’s capacity by enabling fast, low-cost execution while preserving Ethereum as the foundation for security and settlement.
Issuance on Ethereum L1
Assets should be issued on the L1 and bridged to the L2
- Anchors assets to Ethereum’s most secure, neutral, and resilient layer
- Guarantees asset redeemability (escape hatch)
- Maximizes interoperability and composability across the Ethereum ecosystem
Transparency: Rollups inherit Ethereum’s transparency by making their transaction data available on L1, allowing anyone to independently verify the rollup state. Even if the sequencer disappears or censors users, the full transaction history remains accessible and immutable on Ethereum.
Recoverability: Users can withdraw their assets directly from the rollup to Ethereum through the L1 smart contract. This “escape hatch” ensures that, even if the rollup operator fails, users can recover their funds using data secured on L1—making rollups trust-minimized rather than dependent on a single operator.
Ethereum as the trust layer
Rollups are the most secure form of L2, where transactions are executed offchain but the data is published to Ethereum L1.
Choosing the right L2 approach for institutions
Enterprises can leverage an existing L2 for speed and scale or deploy their own for greater control and customization.
| Use an existing L2 | Launch a custom L2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to market | Immediate accessTap into mature ecosystems with established developers, applications, and liquidity. | Faster time to marketBuild using audited, battle-tested rollup frameworks to deploy in weeks, not years. |
| Integration | Lower integration costsInherit Ethereum’s decentralization and security — no need to bootstrap infrastructure. | Tailored environmentsDeploy a private or public rollup using existing stacks, tailored to your specific enterprise needs. |
| Compliance | Regulatory alignmentMany L2s are already building compliance modules suited for financial institutions. | Custom featuresImplement permissioned access, privacy layers, compliance hooks, or internal system integration. |
| Security | Production securityBuild on live and battle-tested L2 chains, with billions of dollars in value secured. | Shared securityEven private rollups settle to Ethereum, benefiting from its validator set without the cost of building one. |
Case studies
Leading financial institutions, technology companies, and consumer platforms are already using Ethereum L2s to scale real-world applications and build the next generation of onchain infrastructure.
Asset tokenization
Ant Group and Robinhood are building L2 infrastructure specifically for the tokenization and servicing of real world assets.
Onchain finance
Global, open financial systems leveraged by Visa, Revolut, Monetary Authority of Singapore & J.P. Morgan and others.
Enterprise infrastructure
Ernst & Young and Deutsche Bank are exploring L2s for privacy, compliance, and institutional financial infrastructure.
Simplified deployment and flexibility
Launch your own L2 or deploy on an existing L2.
Arbitrum
Arbitrum One delivers strong security, fast confirmations, and low fees with straightforward deployment and a bustling DeFi ecosystem.
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ZKsync
ZKsync provides cryptographic settlement guarantees through proofs, with every transaction batch mathematically verified before posting to Ethereum.
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Optimism
Optimism inherits Ethereum’s data availability and settlement guarantees as an optimistic rollup, with EVM equivalence ensuring existing contracts and tooling work out of the box.
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Powered by Ethereum
Contact enterprise experts
These organizations can help you decide whether Ethereum is the right choice for your organization:
Ethereum Institutional
An independent nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the institutional adoption of Ethereum, its L2s, applications, and overall ecosystem.
EthSystems
EthSystems helps institutions move onchain with privacy that's performant, secure, usable, and accessible, disclosing only what the rules require.
Etherealize
Etherealize is building the rails to move Wall Street onto Ethereum, bringing the financial system into the 21st century.
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
The EEA is a member-based organization and the official channel showcasing Ethereum as the leading ecosystem for enterprise adoption. This is where enterprises, institutions, and Ethereum leaders coordinate what comes next.
Keep exploring
Dive deeper into how enterprises are building on Ethereum.
