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Foundations
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Scaling
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Layers
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Foundations: Scaling / Layers
What is Layer 2?
Layer 2 is the answer to a basic tension in blockchains: if every node must process everything, the system stays trust-minimized but expensive and slow. Layer 2 changes where work happens while keeping final settlement tied to Layer 1, which is why it has become the main path to blockchain scaling.
Mar 21, 2026
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23 min read
#LAYERS
What Is a Settlement Layer?
A settlement layer is where a blockchain system makes its promises enforceable. It is the layer that records commitments, verifies proofs or challenges, and gives users a credible way to withdraw or recover assets even when an execution layer fails.
Mar 21, 2026
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23 min read
#LAYERS
What is a Sidechain?
A sidechain is a separate blockchain that lets assets or messages move off a main chain without changing the main chain itself. That sounds like simple scaling, but the important question is where the security comes from: a sidechain has its own security model, and that tradeoff is the whole story.
Mar 21, 2026
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26 min read
#LAYERS
What Is the Consensus Layer?
The consensus layer is the part of a blockchain stack that answers the hardest coordination question: which block does the network agree came next, and when is that choice unlikely to be reversed? In modular systems, that job is deliberately separated from execution so blockchains can scale, upgrade, and specialize without mixing agreement with computation.
Mar 21, 2026
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22 min read
#LAYERS
What Is the Execution Layer?
The execution layer is the part of a blockchain system that actually runs transactions and updates state. It matters because scaling is not just about making blocks faster to agree on — it is about deciding where computation happens, how it is verified, and which layer bears the cost.
Mar 21, 2026
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23 min read
#LAYERS
What is Layer 1?
Layer 1 is the base blockchain that decides what counts as true: who can update state, how blocks are produced, and when transactions are final. Understanding Layer 1 is the key to understanding why scaling is hard, why Layer 2 exists, and why different chains make very different tradeoffs.
Mar 21, 2026
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22 min read
#LAYERS