Ethereum Hits Record Transaction Speeds as Layer 2 ‘Lighter’ Takes the Lead

The Ethereum ecosystem has achieved a new milestone, recording its highest-ever transactions per second (TPS) as activity surges across its layer 2 networks. 

Data from analytics platform Growthepie revealed that the network processed 24,192 transactions in a single second within the last 24 hours. This is a record-breaking figure largely driven by the addition of high-speed layer 2 platform Lighter.

Lighter Boosts Ethereum Scaling Power

The remarkable performance follows Ethereum’s integration of transaction data from Lighter, a decentralized perpetual futures platform that has quickly become one of the fastest networks in the ecosystem. Lighter currently handles around 4,000 TPS, far surpassing the Base Chain’s 100–200 TPS range.

The achievement has sparked excitement across the Ethereum community. “Ethereum is scaling,” co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on X, celebrating the milestone alongside other developers and enthusiasts. Recent upgrades, Pectra and Dencun, have played a key role in improving Ethereum’s transaction throughput, making layer 2 scaling solutions more efficient.

Commenting on the development, Bankless podcast host Ryan Sean Adams noted that layer 2s have added a “200x scaling factor” to Ethereum since October, thanks to innovations like zero-knowledge proofs. Adams suggested that ETH could soon hit 100,000 TPS and potentially reach 1 million in the coming months as layer 2 adoption accelerates.

Despite its speed advantage, Lighter has faced some technical challenges. Since launching on October 1, the network has suffered multiple outages — a pattern reminiscent of Solana’s early struggles. Following an outage on October 28, the Lighter team compensated nearly 3,900 wallets with $774,872 in USDC, demonstrating transparency and user commitment even amid setbacks.

Debate Over Value Flow and Layer 2 Dominance

While Ethereum’s scaling success is widely celebrated, it has reignited debates about where value accrues within the network. Rezso Schmiedt, founding partner at ₿RRR Capital, questioned whether increased activity on layer 2s actually benefits ETH mainnet. “Yes, more transactions. But where’s the value accrual? L2s capture fees, not ETH. This question remains open,” he said.

As Ethereum continues to scale, analysts emphasize the importance of aligning incentives between the mainnet (L1) and its layer 2s. Proposals for fee sharing, MEV capture, and protocol integrations are gaining traction as ways to ensure sustainable growth.