Devconnect 2023, the much-anticipated annual rendezvous for Ethereum developers and enthusiasts, was a grand spectacle set against the vibrant backdrop of Istanbul. From November 13 to 19, the historic city, known for its rich culture and stunning architecture, buzzed with the energy of this decentralized gathering. The event unfolded in thoughtfully curated sessions, hands-on workshops, and engaging social events. The discussions spanned a wide range of topics, from the intricacies of decentralized systems and scalability solutions to the nuances of privacy and governance in the blockchain space. The blend of Istanbul's timeless charm with the cutting-edge innovations of the Ethereum community made Devconnect 2023 an unforgettable experience.

A key highlight of the week was the focus on Layer 2s (L2s), the off-chain scaling solutions designed to boost the efficiency, user-friendliness, and cross-functionality of Ethereum applications. These L2 solutions are vital for Ethereum's future, as they facilitate quicker, cost-effective, and safer transactions – all while maintaining the security and decentralization inherent to Layer 1. L2s also unlock a world of potential for developers and users alike, paving the way for more sophisticated applications in areas like non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance (DeFi), and gaming.

In this blog post, we will explore some of the most exciting and informative talks on L2s held during Devconnect 2023, and how Linea is leading the way for L2s on Ethereum.

Roll Call Working Group for Ethereum

An important initiative launched during Devconnect 2023 was the Roll Call Working Group, a collaborative effort among various rollup projects, researchers, and community members to establish common standards and best practices for rollups. The working group aims to address some of the challenges and open questions that arise from the proliferation and diversity of rollup solutions, such as:

• How do we ensure the security and reliability of rollups, especially in the face of malicious actors or network failures?

• How do we enable seamless and trustless communication and interoperability among different rollups, and between rollups and L1?

• How do we improve the user experience and accessibility of rollups, especially for non-technical users and newcomers?

• How can we foster innovation and collaboration among rollup developers and stakeholders, while avoiding fragmentation and duplication of efforts?

The working group plans to meet regularly and produce reports, recommendations, and proposals for the rollup ecosystem.

The working group is an excellent example of how the Ethereum community is working together to solve the common problems and challenges of L2s, and how we can benefit from the collective wisdom and experience of the community to standardize development on Ethereum, leading to the next takeaway.

Developing Standards for Ethereum L2s

Another topic that received much attention during Devconnect 2023 was the development of standards and protocols for L2s, especially in relation to front-end development and user interface design. As L2s become more widely adopted and integrated with various applications, there is a need for consistent and user-friendly ways to interact with them, such as:

• How to display and switch between different L2 options and networks, as well as their respective fees, speeds, and features?

• How do we handle and notify users of the different confirmation times, finality guarantees, and withdrawal processes of L2s?

• How do we educate and inform users of the trade-offs and risks of using L2s, such as data availability, security assumptions, and dispute resolution mechanisms?

Several projects and teams, such as L2Kit, L2Beat, and L2UX, presented their solutions and proposals for developing standards and protocols for L2s. These talks showed us the importance and complexity of developing standards and protocols for L2s, and how they can enhance the user experience and adoption of L2s.

Introducing Rollup Improvement Plans

One of the most popular and promising types of L2s are rollups, which bundle multiple transactions into a single Layer 1 transaction, reducing gas fees and increasing throughput.

However, rollups are not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are different types of rollups, such as optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge rollups, each with its trade-offs and challenges. Moreover, rollups need to interoperate with each other, the main chain, and with other scaling solutions, such as sharding and state channels. To address these issues, the Ethereum community has developed a standard for rollups called the rollup improvement proposal (RIP).

​​A RIP is a document that describes a feature or a specification for rollups in the Ethereum ecosystem. A RIP can cover various aspects of rollups, such as data availability, security, interoperability, user experience, and more. A RIP is similar to an Ethereum improvement proposal (EIP) but is specific to rollups and does not require consensus from the whole Ethereum community. Instead, a RIP is submitted to a GitHub repository, where it can be reviewed, discussed, and implemented by the rollup developers and users.

There were many events and panels at Devconnect that discussed RIPs and their implications for the rollup ecosystem. L2DAYS was a two-day event that featured talks and presentations from leading rollup projects such as Linea, zkSync, StarkNet etc. Meanwhile, Abstract was a one-day event that focused on cutting-edge research and development of zero-knowledge rollups.

Linea at Devconnect

Linea was at the forefront of all panels and talks about L2s at Devconnect. We celebrated the completion of our public launch, and introduced Linea’s groundbreaking user experience, an ecosystem of 100+ of protocols, partners, dapps and user-friendly integrations with leading web3 products like MetaMask, enabling users to access curated web3 features.

Our booth at the L2DAYS event was bustling, with partners taking over and engaging with users through the two days of the event. Our Live on Linea event was a one-day affair, full of panels, workshops, and meetups to explore Ethereum scaling, emerging markets, on-chain identity, decentralized social, and so much more. Participants were able to attend sessions focused on building a multi-chain future, security risks for cross-chain operations, the importance of community-run projects, and Linea’s work with stablecoins and asset vaults.

In addition, Linea organized a gathering for builders, partners, and teams from our Consensys Fellowship program to meet with VCs in the ecosystem for mentorship, collaboration, and potential investment. It was a full house, with great connections being made between VCs, founders, and attendees. Linea was also the main sponsor for HackZuzalu, a hackathon that cultivates talent from all around the world to collectively tackle frontier challenges. In the closing ceremony, we talked about the impact of crypto in emerging markets like Turkey and the ability to truly enable equal access to opportunity.

You can keep following Linea for all the latest updates on its L2 ecosystem. Keep up with us on Mirror, Twitter, and Lens. Check out our developer portal and technical documentation to get started on the L2 network.