While the community is still busy watching meme coins soar – AI is resurrecting, the biggest battle of the 2025–2026 cycle is quietly taking place:
👉 Layer 1 & Layer 2 are entering a real elimination phase.
This is no longer a race for TPS on paper, but a battle of who survives – who is left behind.
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🔍 1. L1 NO LONGER HAS “EASY LIVING LAND”
• Previous cycle: “New chain = has capitalization”
• This cycle: New chain = compared to death
• High TPS? → compared to #solana
• Cheap fees? → compared to L2 #Ethereum
• Security? → compared to Ethereum
👉 No clear advantage = no real users
The uncomfortable truth:
Which L1 cannot attract real devs & users → tokens are only used for dumping
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⚙️ 2. LAYER 2S ARE EATING EACH OTHER
Layer 2 is no longer “just build and win”:
• Too many similar L2s
• UX is not differentiated
• Liquidity is fragmented
• Incentive farming only temporarily retains users...
👉 Only L2s that solve a specific problem will survive
• Fast transactions for traders?
• Extremely cheap fees for games?
• Is security important for finance?
Remaining: phantom TVL – phantom volume – phantom users.
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💸 3. CASH FLOW IS DEMANDING “EFFECTIVENESS”, NOT “STORY”
Investors in 2025 will no longer be easily deceived by beautiful whitepapers:
• Ask directly: are there users?
• Is there revenue?
• Are tokens being dumped regularly each month?
👉 Which chain:
• There is no real money
• There is no real demand for usage
➡️ Tokens are just an exit tool for the team & VCs
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⚠️ 4. ROADMAP 2026 = A DOUBLE-EDGED DAO
The fact that many L1/L2s are launching roadmaps for 2026 shows:
• They know the next cycle will be fierce
• But it also means:
• Delay = loss of trust
• Not delivering = being eliminated by the market
👉 The next cycle will not patiently wait 2–3 years like before
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🎯 CONCLUSION
• Not all L1/L2s will participate in the next bull run
• The narrative of the “new chain” is outdated
• Only chains with real users – real use cases – real money will remain
🔥 The upcoming bull run is not a festival for everyone – but a brutal cleansing.
