365Crypto
Ethereum just smashed a new record — 24,192 transactions per second. The credit? A lightning-fast Layer 2 called Lighter.
In only a month since its launch, Lighter has pushed Ethereum’s performance to new heights. Data from Growthepie confirmed that at one point, Ethereum processed over 24K transactions in a single second — the fastest in its history.
Lighter runs decentralized perpetual futures and outpaces even Base Chain, clocking nearly 4,000 TPS, while Base lags between 100 and 200. Ethereum fans are celebrating, flooding X with “Ethereum is scaling!” posts — including one from co-founder Vitalik Buterin himself.
The boost comes after the Dencun and Pectra upgrades, which improved Layer 2 efficiency. Analysts say Lighter’s zero-knowledge proofs are the real magic behind the leap. Some, like Ryan Sean Adams, predict Ethereum could soon touch 100K TPS, or even hit 1 million TPS in the near future.
Yet, speed comes with hiccups. Lighter has already suffered multiple outages since October 1. The team reimbursed around 3,900 wallets with nearly $775,000 in USDC after a major downtime on October 28.
Still, the question remains: does all this activity benefit Ethereum’s mainnet? Critics like Rezso Schmiedt argue that Layer 2s earn fees, but not Ether itself. Many now believe Ethereum must realign incentives — sharing fees, capturing MEV, and integrating protocols — to keep the value flowing back to the core network.
Footing:
Layer 2 (L2): Secondary blockchain that processes transactions off the main Ethereum chain to improve speed.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK): Cryptographic method that validates data without revealing its details.
MEV (Maximal Extractable Value): Profit gained by optimizing transaction order in blocks.
