Polygon CEO Criticizes Layer 3 Networks, Cautions Potential Risks

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron has reportedly denounced Layer 3 networks in his recent X post. He spotlighted the potential risks of Ethereum losing its security with the advancements of L3.

Boiron’s criticism comes on the heels of the Degen ecosystem’s launch of Degen Chain, the low-cost Layer 3 blockchain. The Base network’s memecoin project Degen recently introduced Degen Chain, built using Arbitrum Orbit and AnyTrust DA. While the project received wider acceptance from the public, some prominent figures including the Polygon Labs CEO criticized it.

According to Boiron, the introduction of L3s will ultimately nullify the value of Ethereum. He asserted that the existence of L3s will only contribute to “take[ing] value away from Ethereum and onto the L2s on which the L3s are built.”

Highlighting L3s as a futile and disappointing launch, the Polygon Labs CEO cited, “You do not need L3s to scale.” Further, he publicly declared that Polygon Labs will never adopt Layer 3 networks.

However, not everyone agreed with his viewpoints. OxWenMoon, a prominent voice in the blockchain space, responded to Boiron’s post stating,

“I don’t think this is right, but even assuming it is, there is no such thing as “taking value away from Ethereum and onto the L2s”. L2s on Ethereum ARE value on Ethereum.”

Though Boiron agreed that L2s are Ethereum, he had disagreements with the idea that L2 values are Ethereum’s values. He reinforced his notions, citing, “If all L3s settled to one L2, then Ethereum would capture basically no value and, thus, Ethereum security would be at risk.”