ETH mainnet fees: $3–$20. Arbitrum fees: $0.04. Base fees: $0.02. L2s do the same thing for 99% less cost using Ethereum's security. Which one is right for you?
Arbitrum has $3.2B TVL — the most of any L2. Home of GMX (perps), Pendle (yield trading), Aave V3 (lending). Best for DeFi power users. Gas: $0.04. Token: ARB at $0.95.
Base is run by Coinbase on OP Stack. $1.2B TVL. Easy on-ramps from Coinbase app. Strong consumer app ecosystem. No native token. Best for US/Coinbase users. Gas: $0.02.
zkSync Era uses zero-knowledge proofs — mathematically provable security with no 7-day withdrawal delay. $600M TVL, growing. Best for investors in ZK rollup technology. Gas: $0.02.
DeFi (GMX, Pendle): Arbitrum. Consumer apps + Coinbase users: Base. ZK believer + long-term: zkSync. All use MetaMask. Add the network via chainlist.org. Bridge via Across Protocol for fastest transfers.
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