Ethereum and it's L2s work fine as a settlement layer, but it wont cut it as a transaction layer.
Visa is also working with Solana. Solana for example could potentially be a transaction layer for Visa payments and Eth could still be a settlement layer.
Just because companies are working with Eth and it's L2s doesn't mean it's going to be a one stop solution for all digital assets and tokenisation. It's only part of the solution. Don't get caught up in Eth Maximalism
Ethereum L2s are already functioning as full transaction layers, offering the best of both worlds: scalable throughput and Ethereum’s battle-tested security. Chains like BASE have demonstrated real-world performance with ~1,000 TPS, and rollup technology continues to improve rapidly.
Ethereum itself remains a premier settlement layer, but L2s are scaling its transactional capacity with lower fees, faster execution, and full compatibility with the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Solana is often promoted as a 65,000 TPS chain—but that figure is misleading. About 75% of its throughput is just validator vote traffic, a byproduct of its Proof of History design. Actual user-level throughput is closer to 800–1,000 TPS. And under volume stress, Solana has historically experienced network slowdowns and outages.
Visa’s partnership with Solana doesn’t mean it’s the definitive transaction layer—it just highlights that different chains suit different needs. Ethereum’s modular L2 ecosystem is also well-suited for high-throughput applications, with the added benefits of decentralization, security, and composability.
Even Vitalik expects Ethereum L1 to scale 10x in the next year, further strengthening the base layer.
But ultimately, Ethereum’s value proposition doesn’t need to rest on raw TPS metrics. Like Bitcoin, ETH’s store-of-value appeal is rooted in its longevity, security, and growing adoption—regardless of who moves the fastest on paper.
