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Networks

Layer 3 networks

App specific chains. Useful for a narrow set of things, and genuinely excellent at those things.

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2026Updated
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What a layer 3 is

One chain, one application

A layer 3 settles to a layer 2 rather than directly to a layer 1. That gives a single application its own block space, its own gas token and its own rules, without competing with anyone else for capacity.

The case for a layer 3 is specific. A game generating a million small transactions an hour would congest a shared chain and make itself expensive. Give it a dedicated chain and it never competes with a DeFi protocol for block space.

The cost is fragmentation. Every new chain splits liquidity and adds another bridge. That is a real tradeoff and the reason layer 3s make sense for applications with heavy, predictable transaction volume and very little sense for anything else.

Worth remembering
Layer 3s inherit security through two hops rather than one, which means more assumptions in the chain of trust. For a game item this is entirely reasonable. For your life savings it is not.

Dedicated block space

A busy application never competes for capacity, so costs stay predictable.

Custom gas

The chain can use its own token for fees, or sponsor them entirely so players never see a wallet popup.

Two hops to Ethereum

Settlement goes layer 3 to layer 2 to layer 1. More convenience, more assumptions.

Live market data

Priced in real time

Loaded live in your browser when the page opens.

NetworkTickerPrice24hMarket cap
XaiXAIn/an/a
ApeChainAPE$0.1454-7.62%$145.44M
Degen ChainDEGEN$0.00107-1.44%$38.77M
SankoDMTn/an/a
B3B3$0.000819-0.06%$37.90M
RARI ChainRARIn/an/a
Orderly NetworkORDERn/an/a

Prices as of September 29, 2026, replaced by live figures as the page loads. For orientation, not advice.

Want help picking one?

The right network depends on what you want to do and where your money already is. We can work that out on a call in about twenty minutes.

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