The fallacy of scalability — why layer 2s won’t save crypto

Crypto’s reliance on layer-2 solutions may be a double-edged sword, threatening decentralization and security while recreating traditional financial inefficiencies. Is the pursuit of scalability undermining blockchain’s core principles?
Opinion by: Dan Hughes, founder of Radix
Crypto has spent years betting on layer-2 (L2) solutions as its magic bullet for fixing issues with scalability. What if they’re the very thing putting us at risk?
Instead of paving the way for mass adoption, this fixation has created a tangled web of rollups, bridges and fragmented liquidity, threatening blockchain’s core principles of decentralization and security. The dream of a seamless, decentralized network is fading, overshadowed by a complex system that echoes the inefficiencies and centralization of the traditional financial world. Are we scaling innovation or just recreating the past?