Cardano To Launch First Permissionless Layer 2, Outpacing Ethereum

Cardano is set to unveil its first permissionless Layer 2 (L2) solution, positioning itself ahead of other blockchains like Ethereum. The announcement was made during the Cardano Summit 2024 in Argentina, where Philip DiSarro, CEO and founder of Anastasia Labs, detailed the forthcoming launch of Midgard, an optimistic rollup designed to enhance ADA’s scalability and functionality.

DiSarro highlighted the unique advancements of Midgard via X, stating, “Not a single blockchain has managed to achieve true permissionless general purpose rollups. At the end of the day, the top ‘L2s’ in the blockchain space right now are all custodial multisigs.” He emphasized that existing L2 solutions predominantly rely on custodial multisignature schemes, which introduce centralized elements into the otherwise decentralized blockchain environment.

Midgard distinguishes itself by inheriting the full security of Cardano’s Layer 1 (L1) through several innovative features. In contrast to Ethereum’s L2 like Arbitrum, Optimism and Base, Midgard operates without a centralized sequencer, challenge response proofs, multisignatures, or custodians. Instead, it utilizes a permissionless operator set, trustless fraud proofs, and trustless deposits and withdrawals, ensuring that the inbox and outbox mechanisms remain fully censorship-resistant.

Via X, DiSarro highlighted Cardano’s unique local state Extended Unspent Transaction Output (EUTxO) architecture. “This is all made possible by Cardano’s unique local state EUTxO architecture. UTxO contention, small block size, local state, transaction determinism— all of these ‘problems’ may have led you to question why these design choices were made. Midgard aims to show you that these are actually not problems at all.”

The founder Anastasia Labs also further argued: “In fact, quite the opposite; they are extremely powerful properties that, together, provide unique value that simply does not exist in any other ecosystem. These are, in actuality, the core pillars that make Midgard even possible in the first place,” DiSarro explained.

Midgard’s architecture purportedly leverages the inherent strengths of ADA’s design, making it unfeasible to replicate on other blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, Solana, or Sui. DiSarro asserted, “You cannot build Midgard on Ethereum, Solana or Sui. It is a protocol that is only possible on Cardano.”

The impending launch of Midgard is anticipated within the next few months, with DiSarro confidently predicting its impact: “True rollups, L2 protocols that inherit the full security of the L1, are coming in the next few months. Our optimistic rollup, Midgard, is a first of its kind permissionless rollup.”

The announcement garnered attention from within the ADA community and beyond. Danogo, operating the first decentralized exchange (DEX) trading Optim Bond tokens on Cardano, referenced DiSarro’s presentation on the Cardano Summit: “Only on Cardano you can have a new generation of Rollup that is permissionless! There is no multi sig that controls the Layer-2 like on Ethereum! Even Vitalik recognizes that now. […] That inherits full security from L1. And Cardano will have the first L2 that is fully permissionless in a few months!!!!”

Furthermore, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, responded to the discourse with a meme on X stating, “This guy gets it,” signaling endorsement of DiSarro’s vision and the potential of Midgard.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.343.