Available Layer-Two Scalable Solutions for Ethereum?

[Abiky]

In Bitcoin, there is a working version of a Layer-Two solution for scalability named "The Lightning Network". As far as Ethereum goes, we have the Raiden Network but it's not being actively used (or developed) right now. There was something called the "Plasma Framework", but I haven't heard much from it lately. Maybe it was abandoned for something better? Since the Raiden Network and Plasma Framework are no longer being worked on (or at least not being used in the mainstream world), I'm starting to wonder if there are other, better Layer-Two solutions out there that can be used right now to scale Ethereum (ETH)?

If you happen to know of other good projects which serve as a Layer-Two solution for scalability on the ETH blockchain, please let me know. It's nice to have an actively-developed version of the Lightning Network right on the ETH blockchain for added convenience. Waiting for ETH 2.0 to become a reality will no longer be required if there are working L2 solutions that can scale ETH efficiently. I believe that ERC-20 tokens will benefit the most from this.

Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[peterlustig]

Both Lightning network and Raiden are really good but you can also look at MATIC which is currently focusing on side-chain technologies and CELR which are looking to develop into generalized state channel. SKALE is also a good project which is also focusing on the side-chain.

[Abiky]

Both Lightning network and Raiden are really good but you can also look at MATIC which is currently focusing on side-chain technologies and CELR which are looking to develop into generalized state channel. SKALE is also a good project which is also focusing on the side-chain.

Thanks for the tip. It looks like the aforementioned projects are active in development and innovation. Most of all, they're production-ready, meaning that they can be used on the ETH chain for mainstream transactions just like it's the case with Bitcoin's Lightning Network today. I think both projects have good potential to drive ETH's adoption worldwide to the roof. If ETH 2.0 takes a very long time to become a reality, dApp developers can make use of these "Layer-Two" solutions for scalability.

Speaking of "Layer-Two", there's a innovative project called "zk-sync" which uses the power of ZK-SNARKS for added privacy on instant and near-free transactions on the ETH blockchain. The possibilities with sidechains and second-layer solutions are endless. But their success will ultimately depend on how many people are using it. If there's no demand of "off-chain" scaling, then the aforementioned projects will fail in the long run. Ultimately, ETH would have to scale "on-chain" one way or another in order to reduce transaction bottleneck as much as possible. I hope we get to see the next iteration of Ethereum by this year's end. Just my thoughts