Ethereum L2s Are Outperforming, and 94% of Ecosystem Transactions Explain Why

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Sep 6, 2026
2min read
byEthan Mercer
forCoinpaper

Ethereum’s ecosystem is seeing a rotation into DeFi and Layer 2 networks, which now handle 94% of all L1+L2 transactions and process about 29.95 million transactions per day versus 1.97 million on mainnet, representing roughly 97% of total throughput and with Uniswap generating over 57 million L2 transactions in the past 30 days. Capital remains concentrated on Ethereum mainnet (~$162B in stablecoins and ~$49B in DeFi TVL) while L2 TVL is led by Base ($14.51B, 41%), Arbitrum ($12.47B) and Robinhood Chain ($2.8B after +150% in 30 days); ARB’s ~120% surge and ETH trading near $2,500 amid ETF inflows signal growing adoption and market impact for L2 and DeFi tokens.

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Ethereum’s broader ecosystem is emerging as one of crypto’s strongest pockets of momentum, with Layer 2 and DeFi tokens outperforming major sectors just as network activity reaches a notable milestone.

Trader Daan Crypto highlighted the rotation Sunday, saying Ethereum, L2s and DeFi had led major crypto sectors over the previous week, excluding smaller memecoins from the comparison. His market chart points to something larger than a short-term altcoin rally.

Fresh blockchain data shows Ethereum’s scaling networks now handle 94% of all transactions across the combined Ethereum L1 and L2 ecosystem. 

That gives the market rotation a fundamental backdrop.

Ethereum L2s Now Process Nearly 30M Transactions a Day

Ethereum Layer 2 networks processed approximately 29.95 million transactions per day, compared with only 1.97 million on Ethereum mainnet, according to growthepie.

The difference is even larger when computational throughput is measured. L2s now account for 97% of total Ethereum ecosystem throughput, processing roughly 92.4 million gas units per second versus 2.52 million on mainnet. 

The biggest networks are also attracting more capital.

Base currently secures about $14.51 billion, or 41% of Ethereum L2 value, while Arbitrum holds roughly $12.47 billion. Robinhood Chain has climbed to $2.8 billion after increasing its secured value more than 150% over 30 days. 

That growth has already spilled into token markets. ARB recently surged more than 120%, helped by accelerating activity around Robinhood Chain.

DeFi Activity Is Moving to L2s — but the Money Hasn’t

The more interesting divergence is inside DeFi.

Over the past 30 days, Ethereum L2s processed approximately 337 million DeFi transactions, representing around 99% of combined Ethereum L1 and L2 DeFi transaction activity. 

Uniswap alone generated more than 57 million L2 transactions during that period, making it the ecosystem’s most-used L2 application by transaction count. 

Yet the capital remains concentrated on Ethereum mainnet.

Ethereum L1 holds roughly $162 billion of stablecoins, versus only around $12 billion across L2s. Ethereum’s institutional data hub also puts mainnet DeFi TVL near $49 billion. 

ETH itself is trading near $2,500, recovering from roughly $2,390 earlier in the week. Institutional demand has also remained part of the backdrop, with Ethereum ETFs extending an inflow streak as broader crypto fund demand returned. 

The result is an Ethereum ecosystem increasingly split into two complementary roles: L2 networks handle activity, while Ethereum mainnet remains the capital and settlement layer.

That helps explain why this week’s strength is spreading beyond ETH into DeFi and Layer 2 assets rather than behaving like an isolated Ether price move.

Source: cryptorank.io