Layer 2 Coins to Watch in 2025: Which Layer-2 Projects Are Worth Your Investment?

If you’re still waiting for Ethereum to solve its congestion problems, you might have already missed the best opportunity. In fact, the future of blockchain has long been divided into two directions: the underlying infrastructure Layer-1 and the Layer-2 ecosystem dedicated to solving speed issues.

Why did Layer 2 Coins suddenly become hot favorites?

Bitcoin processes 7 transactions per second, Ethereum Layer-1 about 15 — these numbers seem painfully slow, like snails compared to traditional finance. Visa easily handles 1700 transactions per second, which is why DeFi, NFT, and gaming applications that truly require speed are flocking to Layer-2.

The core logic of Layer-2 is simple: move most transactions to side chains for processing, only returning to the main chain for confirmation when necessary. The result is skyrocketing transaction speeds and plummeting fees. This is also why the popularity of Layer 2 coins continues to rise into 2025.

Can Arbitrum and Optimism maintain their dominance?

Arbitrum (ARB) - Current price $0.19, Market Cap $1.10B

Arbitrum uses optimistic rollup technology(Optimistic Rollup) to achieve 4000 transactions per second, ten times faster than the Ethereum mainnet, with fees 95% cheaper. This platform holds over 51% of the Ethereum Layer-2 market share, making it the absolute leader.

From a developer experience perspective, Arbitrum offers familiar toolchains, with a full suite of DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and gaming projects. The ARB token is used for transaction fees, staking, and governance, and the network is steadily progressing toward decentralization. However, as a relatively new Layer-2, it still carries risks compared to more mature solutions.

Optimism (OP) - Current price $0.27, Market Cap $522.96M

Optimism also employs the same technical approach, with a theoretical peak throughput of 4000 transactions per second, but it emphasizes community governance more. OP aims to become a self-governing community, already attracting a solid lineup of DeFi projects, NFT marketplaces, and DAOs. Compared to Arbitrum, Optimism is more committed to decentralization.

Which of these two will win? Honestly, their technical solutions are quite similar; ultimately, the winner depends on ecosystem development and community strength.

Undervalued high-performance players

Polygon (MATIC) - Although TVL has declined, its underlying multi-chain ecosystem remains strong. It supports various L2 technologies, including zk rollups, with throughput reaching 65,000 transactions per second, far surpassing Ethereum. Gas fees are so low they’re almost tear-jerking, and its DeFi ecosystem is the most mature (Aave, SushiSwap, Curve are all on it).

Manta Network (MANTA) - Current price $0.07, Market Cap $34.08M

This is a privacy-focused outlier. Manta Pacific is an EVM-compatible L2, while Manta Atlantic handles privacy identity management. If you care about transaction privacy, this is one of the few Layer 2 coins genuinely working on this. After launch, it grew rapidly, even surpassing Base to become Ethereum’s third-largest L2 at one point.

Newcomers and professional players

Base - Backed by Coinbase, naturally has a user base. Built on OP Stack, with a throughput of 2000 transactions per second, and gas fees reduced by 95%. Although its TVL is only $729 million, its growth momentum is promising.

Coti (COTI) - Current price $0.02, Market Cap $55.74M

Switching from Cardano’s L2 to Ethereum L2, now focusing on privacy and accessibility. The theoretical throughput of 100,000 transactions per second sounds exaggerated, but if truly achieved, it would be a significant breakthrough.

Immutable X (IMX) - Current price $0.24, Market Cap $196.25M

A gaming-oriented L2, with over 9000 transactions per second throughput, optimized especially for NFT trading and gaming asset transfers. While its TVL isn’t the largest, it’s a specialist in the gaming application vertical.

Bitcoin is also competing for the cake: Lightning Network

Talking about Layer-2 often overlooks Bitcoin. Lightning Network can support 1 million transactions per second, though its TVL is only $198 million, its significance for Bitcoin micro-payments is huge. Bitcoin’s inherent limitations make on-chain scaling nearly impossible, so Lightning has become the only way out.

Niche but worth paying attention to

Starknet uses STARK zero-knowledge proof technology, with a theoretical throughput of several million transactions per second. Although its user base is still small, this tech direction is very cutting-edge.

Dymension is an L2 innovator within the Cosmos ecosystem, employing modular design to allow developers to customize RollApps. This flexibility is very valuable for building specialized applications.

What should you focus on in 2025?

Ethereum 2.0’s Danksharding update is expected to boost Ethereum’s throughput to 100,000 transactions per second. This sounds like it might kill Layer-2, but actually it won’t — it will make L2 cheaper, faster, and offer a better user experience. The relationship between L1 and L2 is not about replacement but about complementarity.

The prospects for Layer-2 coins depend on several factors:

• Who can build scalable application ecosystems the fastest
• Who offers the smoothest user experience
• Who excels in security and decentralization

2025 will not be the era of choosing a single Layer-2 but of multiple chains developing simultaneously. Arbitrum and Optimism are likely to continue dominating market share, but privacy-focused projects like Manta and vertical applications like Immutable will also carve out their niches. The key is to understand each project’s unique advantages rather than blindly follow the trend.

The explosion of the Layer-2 ecosystem has already begun; the question is, are you ready to keep up?