All terms
A chain built on top of a layer 2, usually for one application.
A layer 3 settles to a layer 2 rather than directly to a layer 1. This gives an application its own dedicated block space, custom gas token and tailored rules.
It is the right answer when one app would otherwise congest a shared chain, and overkill for almost everything else.
Xai settles to Arbitrum, which settles to Ethereum. Games get their own chain without competing for space.
That more layers mean more scale for free. Each layer adds a step where value has to be bridged and a set of people who control it. The gain is cheap dedicated block space, and the cost is another place things can go wrong.
Common questions
What is the point of a layer 3?
Is a layer 3 more secure than a layer 2?
Where this comes up on the site
The guides that actually use this word, rather than a list of everything we have written.
Where to go next
More technology terms
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