نسخهٔ فارسی

Transparent, non-custodial, yours

Layer 2: execution elsewhere, settlement on Ethereum

A rollup executes transactions off Ethereum and settles proofs or data back to it. What that inherits, what it does not, and where the trust sits.

Inherited Data availability and settlement from Ethereum
Not inherited Liveness, ordering and upgrade governance
Usual architecture A single sequencer with an upgradeable contract set

FBT Swap

What you should know

A layer 2 is a separate execution environment that posts its results back to Ethereum. You transact on the rollup; Ethereum remains the place where the record is finally anchored.

The phrase "inherits Ethereum security" is accurate about one specific property and misleading about several others, which is worth untangling before you move funds there.

What is genuinely inherited

Data availability and settlement. Because the rollup publishes enough information to Ethereum for anyone to reconstruct its state, you do not need the rollup operator's permission to prove what you own. In principle you can exit even if the operator stops cooperating.

That property is real and is the reason rollups are treated differently from sidechains, which have their own validator set and their own security entirely.

What is not inherited

Liveness and ordering. Almost every rollup today runs a single sequencer, which decides transaction order and can go offline. During an outage the chain stops for everyone, and Ethereum cannot help.

Upgradeability is the other one. Rollup contracts are typically upgradeable by a multisig or a security council, which means the rules can change on a timescale shorter than any protocol change on Ethereum.

Why this changes nothing day to day and everything in a crisis

In normal operation a rollup feels like a fast, cheap Ethereum. The differences surface when something breaks: a sequencer outage, a contested withdrawal, or an upgrade you disagree with.

Knowing which assumptions you are accepting is the point. It is not an argument against using them — it is the difference between an informed choice and an assumption.

Supported rollups here

FBT Swap supports Arbitrum One, Base, Optimism, Linea, Scroll, zkSync Era and Unichain alongside Ethereum itself, plus non-rollup networks including BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, Sonic, Mantle, Berachain and Monad.

The network is shown before every signature, because the same address existing on all of them is the most expensive source of confusion in multi-chain use.

At a glance

At a glance

Inherited

Data availability and settlement from Ethereum

Not inherited

Liveness, ordering and upgrade governance

Usual architecture

A single sequencer with an upgradeable contract set

Practical effect

Identical in normal use; different during an incident

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Clear answers before you decide.

Is a layer 2 as safe as Ethereum?

For settlement, the design intends it to be. For liveness and governance it is not — a sequencer can halt and contracts can be upgraded by a small group, neither of which applies to Ethereum itself.

What is the difference between a rollup and a sidechain?

A rollup posts data to Ethereum so its state can be reconstructed and exited independently. A sidechain has its own consensus and its own security budget, and a bridge to it is a trust relationship rather than a settlement guarantee.

Can I lose funds if a rollup shuts down?

A well-constructed rollup has an escape mechanism letting users withdraw directly through Ethereum. Whether that mechanism is live, tested and usable varies by network and is worth checking for anything significant.

Risk notice

Crypto assets are volatile and on-chain transactions cannot be reversed. You can lose money, including all of it. Nothing here is financial advice.