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The fallacy of scalability — why layer 2s won’t save crypto

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Opinion by: Dan Hughes, founder of Radix 

Crypto has spent years betting on layer-2 (L2) solutions as its magic bullet for fixing issues with scalability. What if they’re the very thing putting us at risk?

Instead of paving the way for mass adoption, this fixation has created a tangled web of rollups, bridges and fragmented liquidity, threatening blockchain’s core principles of decentralization and security. The dream of a seamless, decentralized network is fading, overshadowed by a complex system that echoes the inefficiencies and centralization of the traditional financial world. Are we scaling innovation or just recreating the past?

The blockchain trilemma

L2s were supposed to mitigate the blockchain trilemma. Yet, while they may fill the gaps at the individual level, as a movement, L2 solutions have put crypto at risk of losing all three.

The growing mass of L2s has led to a highly fractured ecosystem that’s difficult to navigate and relies on complex rollups and bridging solutions. This has led to parts of the ecosystem centralizing, drawing assets into fragmented liquidity silos, hindering security and stifling competition for smaller projects. 

These “solutions” have introduced large-scale friction and have also brought unnecessary security risks. While bridge-related hacks have become much less common in the last two years, hackers will always find new ways to balance the books — exploiting rollups, channels and sidechains. 

Many L2s’ reliance on sequencers or trusted validators creates additional cracks in the armor, single points of failure, while siloed liquidity reduces validator availability for smaller L2s, threatening network resilience.

These solutions also leave an immense technical challenge for developers building applications hoping to integrate with L2s, requiring in-depth and specific knowledge of the mechanics of each L2 the application may need to touch.

L2 proponents argue that these trade-offs are necessary and easily overcome, but there are even more fundamental issues here than sacrificing security, scalability or liquidity. 

Recent: AI has had its Cambrian moment — Blockchain’s is yet to come

Crypto’s endgame is a universal network where any asset or decentralized application can instantly interact with any other in a trustless, secure way. The friction that L2s introduce, however, sabotages this instant interoperability, while the centralization of sequencers and validators undermines the fundamentals of a trustless system. It is not just that this stymies scalability in decentralized finance (DeFi), but rather that it leads toward scaling something completely different, recreating the inefficiencies of the existing siloed, fragmented and middle-man-infested TradFi system.

If the goal of DeFi is to move all financial activity onchain, it is imperative to do better than what we already have. 

Building the foundations

Crypto needs to build from the foundations up. Instead of outsourcing scalability and security, blockchain networks must prioritize them at layer 1.

Sharding offers a clear path forward, but the industry must set higher goals and build a long-term solution rather than just a quick fix to “band-aid” the immediate scalability problem of the day. It is not just about increasing the shard count; it is how we shard. The Beacon Chain just adds a bottleneck, and dynamic sharding is complicated, limiting scalability with massive overheads. Even intra-validator sharding seems to solve all of these problems until you reach resource saturation on the network-facing node, which has to ingest all transactions, simply kicking the can down the road in search of more validators and diminishing returns.

The obvious solution for scaling DeFi to the same capabilities as TradFi is state sharding, which is the state of the blockchain distributed across many different shards. Transactions that involve states from different shards create a temporary consensus process. 

The validators responsible for the transaction state communicate, agree (or not), and update the state atomically in all relevant shards. This allows transactions to be processed in parallel across multiple shards and even within shards themselves, leaving a shard’s only concern that the transactions modifying the state for which they are responsible do not have intersecting dependencies, significantly increasing throughput without compromising decentralization or accessibility. 

When these shards are integrated with atomic commitment, if any part of the transaction fails, everything aborts cleanly, and there’s no work needed to untangle hanging state changes.

This is just one solution. DeFi will scale to onboard the planet. It is just a question of how soon and by what means. That said, solutions that focus on the fundamentals of L1 development rather than relying on a patchwork of L2s will eliminate fragmentation, reduce complexity, and ensure scalability and accessibility are again at the heart of blockchain networks. It comes down to the future that developers want to prioritize — tokenomics or the founding promises of Web3 — decentralization, efficiency and security. 

Scaling for the future

L1 solutions are solutions for everybody. They secure the very foundation of the ecosystem for developers, traders, general users and even several billion prospective users. Without resilient and scalable architecture in the foundations, one strong push is all it will take to cause this house of cards to collapse. Of course, specific use cases might be better with L2 solutions. A high-frequency trade settlement is a perfect example, but exceptions never prove the rule. From a whole-ecosystem perspective, developers must focus on integrated, native scalability solutions instead of just adding complexity and balancing more precarious “solutions” on top. Without adequately attending to the L1, nothing but problems await.

Opinion by: Dan Hughes, founder of Radix.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Coin Market

Bitcoin miner Bitfarms secures up to $300M loan from Macquarie

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Bitfarms, a global computer infrastructure company known for its Bitcoin mining operations, has entered into a $300 million loan agreement with Macquarie Group to finance the development of its high-performance computing (HPC) data centers.

According to an April 2 announcement, Macquarie’s private debt facility will provide $50 million in initial funding for Bitfarms’ Panther Creek data center project in Pennsylvania. 

The remaining $250 million will be released once Bitfarms achieves “specific development milestones at its Panther Creek location,” the announcement said.

Once developed, Panther Creek will have a nearly 500-megawatt capacity fueled by several power sources. 

Panther Creek “will be sought after by HPC tenants once construction of the project is underway,” said Joshua Stevens, an associate director at Macquarie Group. 

Source: Bitfarms

The project is being delivered at a time when AI applications are fueling growing demand for new sources of computational power and data storage capacity. Bitcoin miners are rushing to fill the void — and to secure reliable revenue streams for themselves in a post-halving environment. 

However, Bitfarms disclosed in its recent quarterly report that it continues to face “regulatory challenges in expanding its energy capacity,” with the approval timeline ranging from 12 to 36 months. 

In the meantime, Bitfarms expects its $125 million acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining to do much of the heavy lifting in providing additional capacity, CEO Ben Gagnon told investors.

Related: Bitfarms sells Paraguay site to Hive for $85M, refocuses on US

Amid industry pressure, miners are HODLing 

Bitfarms mined 654 Bitcoin (BTC) in the final quarter of 2024 at an average all-in cash cost of $60,800. 

Like other miners, Bitfarms has elected to retain a significant portion of its mined Bitcoin. Industry data shows it currently holds 1,152 BTC on its books, placing it among the top 25 publicly traded Bitcoin investors.

Miners like Hive Digital have doubled down on their long-term Bitcoin “hodl” strategy as a way to bolster their balance sheet. The company’s Bitcoin holdings have swelled to 2,620 BTC. 

Meanwhile, MARA Holdings has accumulated 46,374 BTC and has announced plans for a $2 billion stock offering to acquire more Bitcoin. 

Source: Frank Holmes

Like Bitfarms, Hive Digital, Core Scientific, Hut8 and Bit Digital have also made a strategic pivot toward AI and HPC.

Hive executives told Cointelegraph that the company has repurposed a portion of its Nvidia GPUs for such tasks. They said AI applications can generate more than $2.00 per hour in revenue, compared to just $0.12 per hour for crypto mining activities. 

Related: BTC miners adopted ‘treasury strategy,’ diversified business in 2024: Report

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Coin Market

Most opportune time to buy Bitcoin? Now — Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan explains why

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If you’ve ever wondered when is the right time to invest in Bitcoin (BTC), you won’t want to miss our latest interview with Matt Hougan. As the chief investment officer at Bitwise, Hougan provides an in-depth analysis, explaining why, from a risk-adjusted perspective, there has never been a more opportune time to buy Bitcoin.

In our discussion, Hougan lays out a compelling argument: Bitcoin’s early days were filled with uncertainty — technology risks, regulatory threats, trading inefficiencies, and reputational concerns. Fast forward to today, and those risks have significantly diminished. The launch of Bitcoin ETFs, adoption by major institutional investors, and even the US government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve have all cemented its place in the global financial ecosystem.

“Bitcoin is only 10% of gold. So just to match gold, which I think is just a stopping point on its long-term journey, it has to ten-x from here,” he said.

But that’s just the beginning. Hougan also touches on Bitcoin’s long-term price potential, why institutional adoption is about to accelerate, and how market fundamentals could push Bitcoin to new heights.

“There’s just too much structural long-term demand that has to come into this market against a severely limited new supply, he said.

Watch the full interview now on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!

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Coin Market

Price analysis 4/2: BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, ADA, TON, LINK, LEO

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Bitcoin (BTC) bulls have pushed the price above the $87,000 level even as US trade tariffs are slated to kick in on April 2. Bitcoin may remain volatile in the near term, but analysts remain bullish for the long term.

According to Fidelity analyst Zack Wainwright, Bitcoin is currently in an acceleration phase, which “can conclude with a sharp, dramatic rally” if history repeats itself. If that happens, Wainwright expects $110,000 to be the starting base of the next leg of the upmove.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes said in a post that if the Federal Reserve pivots to quantitative easing, then Bitcoin could rally to $250,000 by year-end.

Could Bitcoin break above the $89,000 overhead resistance, starting a rally in select altcoins? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin has risen close to the resistance line, where the sellers are expected to pose a solid challenge.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The flattening 20-day exponential moving average ($85,152) and the relative strength index (RSI) just above the midpoint signal the bears are losing their grip. That improves the prospects of a rally above the resistance line. If that happens, the BTC/USDT pair could climb to $95,000 and eventually to $100,000.

Alternatively, if the price turns down sharply from the resistance line and breaks below $81,000, it will suggest that the bears are back in the driver’s seat. The pair may then tumble to $76,606.

Ether price analysis

Ether (ETH) rebounded off the $1,754 support on March 31, signaling that the bulls are attempting to form a double-bottom pattern.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bears will try to stall the relief rally at the 20-day EMA ($1,965). If the price turns down from the 20-day EMA, the possibility of a break below $1,574 increases. The ETH/USDT pair may then collapse to $1,550.

Contrarily, a break and close above the 20-day EMA opens the doors for a rise to the breakdown level of $2,111. If buyers pierce this resistance, the pair will complete a double-bottom pattern, starting a rally to the target objective of $2,468.

XRP price analysis

XRP’s (XRP) weak bounce off the crucial $2 support suggests a lack of aggressive buying by the bulls at the current levels.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

That heightens the risk of a break below $2. If that happens, the XRP/USDT pair will complete a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. This negative setup could start a downward move to $1.27. There is support at $1.77, but it is likely to be broken.

On the upside, a break and close above the 50-day SMA ($2.39) suggests solid buying at lower levels. The pair may then rally to the resistance line, where the bears are expected to mount a strong defense. A break and close above the resistance line signals a potential trend change.

BNB price analysis

BNB’s (BNB) recovery attempt stalled at the moving averages on April 1, indicating that the bears are selling on rallies.

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bears will try to strengthen their position by pulling the price below $587. If they can pull it off, the BNB/USDT pair could descend to the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of $575 and later to the 61.8% retracement of $559. The deeper the pullback, the greater the time needed for the pair to recover.

A break above the moving averages is the first sign that the selling pressure has reduced. The pair may rally to $644 and then to $686, which is likely to attract sellers.

Solana price analysis

Solana (SOL) is getting squeezed between the 20-day EMA ($132) and the $120 support, signaling a possible range expansion in the short term.

SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price breaks and closes above the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the buyers have overpowered the sellers. The SOL/USDT pair may rise to the 50-day SMA ($145) and, after that, to $180.

This positive view will be invalidated in the near term if the price turns down from the moving averages and breaks below $120. That could pull the price to $110, where the buyers are expected to step in.

Dogecoin price analysis

Dogecoin (DOGE) remains pinned below the 20-day EMA ($0.17), indicating that the bears continue to sell on minor rallies.

DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The first sign of strength will be a break and close above the 20-day EMA. The DOGE/USDT pair may climb to $0.21, which could act as a strong barrier. If buyers pierce the $0.21 resistance, the pair may rally to $0.24 and later to $0.29.

Sellers are likely to have other plans. They will try to defend the moving averages and pull the price below $0.16. If they manage to do that, the pair could descend to the $0.14 support. A break and close below the $0.14 level may sink the pair to $0.10.

Cardano price analysis

Buyers are trying to push Cardano (ADA) back above the uptrend line, but the bears are likely to sell near the moving averages.

ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The downsloping 20-day EMA ($0.71) and the RSI just below the midpoint signal that bears have the edge. If the price turns down and breaks below $0.63, the ADA/USDT pair could plunge to $0.58 and thereafter to $0.50.

Buyers will have to drive and maintain the price above the 50-day SMA ($0.75) to signal a potential trend change in the near term. The pair could rally to $0.84, which may act as a hurdle. 

Related: Is Bitcoin price going to crash again?

Toncoin price analysis

Toncoin (TON) broke above the $4.14 resistance on March 1, but the bulls could not sustain the breakout.

TON/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

A minor positive in favor of the bulls is that they have not allowed the price to slip much below $4.14. That increases the possibility of a break above the overhead resistance. The TON/USDT pair could rally to $5 and later to $5.50.

The 20-day EMA ($3.71) is the critical support to watch out for on the downside. If the support cracks, it will signal that the bulls are losing their grip. The pair may slide to the 50-day SMA ($3.48) and then to $2.81.

Chainlink price analysis

Chainlink (LINK) tried to rise above the 20-day EMA ($14.32) on April 1, but the bears held their ground.

LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Sellers will try to pull the price to the support line of the descending channel pattern, which remains the key short-term level to keep an eye on. If the price breaks below the support line, the LINK/USDT pair could descend to $10.

If buyers want to prevent the downside, they will have to push and maintain the price above the 50-day SMA ($15.47). If they manage to do that, the pair could rally to $17.50 and subsequently to the resistance line.

UNUS SED LEO price analysis

UNUS SED LEO (LEO) turned down from the overhead resistance of $9.90 and plunged below the uptrend line on March 30.

LEO/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, the bears could not sustain the lower levels, and the bulls pushed the price back into the triangle on April 1. The recovery is expected to face selling at the 20-day EMA ($9.60). If the price turns down from the 20-day EMA and breaks below the uptrend line, it increases the risk of a fall to $8.

Instead, if the LEO/USD pair breaks above the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the markets have rejected the breakdown. A breakout and close above $9.90 will complete an ascending triangle pattern, which has a target objective of $12.04.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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