In this article, I will discuss the Best Layer-2 Payment Networks Competing With Visa. As blockchain adoption grows, Layer-2 solutions are emerging to solve Ethereum’s scalability and high-fee issues, offering faster transactions, lower costs, and secure payments.
Networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and zkSync are paving the way for crypto payments to rival traditional systems like Visa.
Key Points & Best Layer-2 Payment Networks Competing With Visa
| Layer-2 Network | Key Point |
|---|---|
| Arbitrum | Optimistic rollup scaling Ethereum with high throughput |
| Optimism | Focus on low fees and Ethereum compatibility |
| Polygon (PoS + zkEVM) | Hybrid scaling with sidechain + zk rollups |
| zkSync Era | Zero-knowledge rollups enabling instant finality |
| StarkNet | STARK-based zk-rollups for scalability and security |
| Base (Coinbase L2) | Built on Optimism stack, integrated with Coinbase |
| Linea | zkEVM by ConsenSys for Ethereum scaling |
| Mantle | Modular L2 with focus on performance and liquidity |
| Scroll | zkEVM rollup emphasizing decentralization |
| Immutable X | NFT-focused zk-rollup with instant, gas-free transactions |
10 Best Layer-2 Payment Networks Competing With Visa
1. Arbitrum
Arbitrum is an optimistic rollup L2 on Ethereum. It is one of the largest and most widely used as a scaling solution.
It achieves high throughput (estimates on L2 snapshots reach around 40–60 TPS on a regular basis) while maintaining full EVM compatibility; any smart contract coded for Ethereum will work as is.
It holds a diverse ecosystem of DeFi applications for lending, swapping, and governance, among other things, which makes it a pivotal center of finance beyond just payment transactions.
Given its maturity and extensive adoption, it provides a solid “bridge” for traditional finance and Web3 payments, powered by Ethereum’s security but with less cost and faster confirmation times.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | Optimistic Rollup |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | Full EVM compatibility; most Ethereum smart contracts work unchanged |
| Performance & Fees | Low gas fees (~$0.007–$0.015 per tx); fast L2 finality; withdrawals take 7 days due to optimistic challenge period |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | Broad DeFi ecosystem; good for general payments, token swaps, and high-volume Ethereum dApps; mature and widely adopted |
2. Optimism
Optimism has also established itself as a major player Optimistic Rollups. Its goal is to scale Ethereum by trying to batch and compress transactions off-chain, and settle proofs back on to the mainnet.
It has both a developer friendly framework due to the OP Stack as well as a strong claim to Ethereum`s Tooling, enabling a frictionless transition to Optimism dApps
Transactions and cheaper gas fees relative to Optimism sutable for payment systems, micro or high volume transactions.
Like other optimistic rollups, the main tradeoff that the user has to account for is the challenge window for withdrawal fraud proofs to layer 1, which lacks sufficient effort.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | Optimistic Rollup (OP Stack) |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; smooth migration for existing Ethereum dApps |
| Performance & Fees | Low fees; high throughput; supports large-scale transactions and DeFi operations |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | Ideal for payments, DeFi, and enterprise dApps; stable and developer-friendly environment |
3. Polygon (PoS + zkEVM)
Polygon has two relevant l2-style solutions to scaling. Its first is a PoS sidechain and the new Polygon zkEVM which is a rollup that seeks to be fully EVM compatible.
The Polygon PoS solution is one of the most popular due to its high throughput (up to 1,000 TPS) as well as low fees.
This has allowed the solution to scale large consumer dApps, payments, and NFT marketplace. On the other hand, Polygon zkEVM allows for users that want more trustless rollups to stick within the Ethereum ecosystem.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | PoS sidechain + zkEVM rollup |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; Solidity contracts work on both PoS and zkEVM |
| Performance & Fees | PoS: very high throughput (~1,000 TPS) and ultra-low fees (<$0.01); zkEVM: lower fees (~$0.02–$0.05), moderate TPS (~40–50) |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | High-volume transfers, consumer payments, NFT/gaming platforms; flexible choice between PoS and zk-rollup for cost vs security |
4. zkSync Era
Recently zkSync Era has resurfaced as a ZK‑Rollup L2 on Ethereum. Posessing drastically lower fees (gas fees are a miniscule fraction of Ethereum mainnet) and much quicker finality.
Furthermore it is compatible with EVM contracts, easing the developer migration. Yes, zk rollups are much more secure then optimistic rollups due to the validation process.
That being said, optimistic rollups only secure the chain with the loss of a challenge period. If the use case involves payments, micropayments, or transfers with low fees
ZkSync Era is an obvious and much needed solution as it provides low-cost transactions with high security and speed.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | zk-Rollup (zkEVM) |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; Solidity contracts migrate easily |
| Performance & Fees | Very low fees (~$0.03 per tx); block times ~2–4 seconds; instant L2 finality |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | Micro-payments, fast transfers, dApps needing low cost and high speed, secure settlement without challenge periods |
5. StarkNet
StarkNet is a ZK-Rollups network built with STARK proofs and a customized smart contract environment (not general purpose Solidity).
This structure allows for extremely high scalability with TPS estimated at ~127 and extremely low fees (less than a cent) and in addition to that a large number of operations are confirmed in under 2 seconds
While the non-EVM environment may require developers to explore new tooling (Cairo for example), it’s performance and security potential makes
StarkNet a great candidate to support sophisticated use cases — high-volume and low-cost payment systems, enterprise-grade solutions, or gamified ecosystems and NFT marketplaces.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | zk-Rollup using STARK proofs |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | Custom language Cairo (not full Solidity/EVM) |
| Performance & Fees | Extremely low fees (~$0.0013 per tx); TPS ~127+; sub-2-second confirmation for many operations |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | High-frequency payments, NFT/gaming, complex dApps; prioritizes speed and low-cost operations over full EVM compatibility |
6. Base (Coinbase L2)
Base is Collegebase’s Ethereum L2 built using Optimism’s OP Stack, which is focused on onboarding Web3 and bridging trad-fi users to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Base is apt for DeFi and NFT applications as it is fully EVM compatible, has low transaction costs, and permits quick transaction processing.
Base is easier for crypto beginners since it is integrated with Coinbase and provides familiar user interfaces.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | Optimistic Rollup (OP Stack) |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; Ethereum contracts work seamlessly |
| Performance & Fees | Low fees; high throughput; designed for mainstream users and Coinbase ecosystem integration |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | Consumer-facing fintech, stablecoin transfers, bridging traditional finance users to Web3 with familiar UI |
7. Linea
Linea is a new ZK-EVM rollup built by Consensys, focused on providing EVM compatible, low throughput, low cost, layer two for ethereum, and achieves through optimally good zk rollups.
Out of all the rollups, Linea is the one to provide the fastest finality while maintaining stronger transaction validity.
Linea has the potential to be the one and only ZK rollup to transcend the Ethereum ecosystem by providing all the attributes necessary to compete with traditional payment systems.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | zk-Rollup (zkEVM, fully EVM-equivalent) |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | Full EVM equivalence; seamless migration for Ethereum dApps |
| Performance & Fees | Gas fees 15–20× cheaper than Ethereum; high throughput; fast finality using ZK proofs |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | DeFi, wallets, NFT platforms; ideal for low-fee, scalable, Ethereum-compatible apps |
8. Mantle
Mantle is a layer two on Ethereum described as an optimistic rollup or modular rollup claiming to provide hyperscale to builders and users.
Mantle’s focus is on high performance at low fees while achieving modularity to be able to help support dApps (DeFi, payments, etc.)
At low-cost and high scalable performance. For users or platforms requiring a scalable, low-cost L2 environment
Be it for payments, token transfers, or DeFi as a cheaper low performing alternative to a rollup or a sidechain, Mantle would be a viable option.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | Optimistic / modular rollup |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; easy migration for Ethereum dApps |
| Performance & Fees | High throughput; low fees; scalable for large-volume transactions |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | DeFi, payments, token transfers; general-purpose scalable L2 for dApps |
9. Scroll
Scroll is a ZK-EVM rollup and part of the larger layer 2 ecosystem. When conducting recent infrastructure mappings, Scroll is characterized as a general-purpose
zkEVM solution providing Ethereum scaling. As a zkEVM, Scroll intends to provide Ethereum compatibility by having existing smart contracts
function while reaping the benefits of zero knowledge proofs, which include; faster finality, lowered fees, and security; all useful for payment like use cases, token transfers, or high throughput applications.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | zk-Rollup / zkEVM |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | High; nearly full Ethereum compatibility |
| Performance & Fees | Low fees; fast finality; secure using zero-knowledge proofs |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | Developers wanting Ethereum-like environment with higher scalability and lower cost; suitable for payments and dApps |
10. Immutable X
Immutable X is a layer-2 blockchain built on Ethereum focused on NFTs and gaming applications, utilizing ZK-Rollups for faster and significantly cheaper transactions.
Gas fees get eliminated due to the ZK-Rollups anchoring to Ethereum L1, and the security risks of Ethereum get bypassed.
Thanks to the Ethereum architecture, Immutable X allows for free minting and trading of NFTs, accommodating the gaming market and NFT marketplace crypto values.
For gaming and digital asset marketplaces that deal with many microtransactions, Immutable X has no match for legacy systems. It’s a combination crypto system with unmatched security, scalability, and efficiency.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type of L2 / Rollup | zk-Rollup specialized for NFTs & gaming |
| EVM Compatibility / Smart Contract Support | Limited; supports API-based interactions and NFT marketplace tools |
| Performance & Fees | Very high scalability (9,000+ trades/sec); near-zero gas fees; instant finality for NFT operations |
| Primary Strengths / Use-Cases | NFT marketplaces, game-item trading, digital asset minting; excellent for micro-transactions in gaming |
Conclsuion
To conclude, Layer-2 scaling solutions such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and zkSync Era, are changing the Ethereum ecosystem by providing rapid, low-cost, and scalable transactions.
Optimistic rollups have more mature EVM compatibility, while zk-rollups are faster and more secure.
Together, these Layer-2 Ethereum solutions are an alternative to legacy payment processors such as Visa by providing a seamless and frictionless means to transact on a global scale with cryptocurrencies.
FAQ
What are Layer‑2 payment networks?
Layer‑2 networks are secondary frameworks built on top of Ethereum to increase transaction speed, reduce fees, and improve scalability for payments and dApps.
How do L2 networks compete with Visa?
They offer high throughput, near-instant finality, and extremely low transaction fees, enabling fast, global, and cost-effective payments.
Which are the most popular L2 networks?
Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon (PoS + zkEVM), zkSync Era, StarkNet, Base, Linea, Mantle, Scroll, and Immutable X.
What is the difference between Optimistic and zk-Rollups?
Optimistic rollups rely on challenge periods for security; zk-rollups use cryptographic proofs, offering faster finality and lower withdrawal delays.
Are L2 networks compatible with Ethereum smart contracts?
Most networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon zkEVM, zkSync Era, and Linea are fully EVM-compatible for easy contract migration.
