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Main Authors: Kaur, Ekleen, Suvajdzic, Marko
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21055
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author Kaur, Ekleen
Suvajdzic, Marko
author_facet Kaur, Ekleen
Suvajdzic, Marko
contents Layer-2 (L2) protocols address the fundamental limitations of Layer-1 (L1) blockchains by offloading computation while anchoring trust to the parent chain. This architectural shift, while boosting throughput, introduces a new, complex security surface defined by off-chain components like sequencers, bridges, and data availability mechanisms. Prior literature[31][33] offers fragmented views of this risk. This paper presents the first unified, security-focused survey that rigorously maps L2 architecture to its underlying cryptographic security. We dissect the technical progression from L1 primitives to the core of modern L2s, analyzing the security assumptions(Discrete Logarithm, Computational Diffie-Hellman, Bilinear Diffie-Hellman) of ZK frameworks (Groth16, Plonk) and their corresponding commitment schemes (KZG, IPA). We formalize a comprehensive L2 threat model encompassing sequencer liveness, bridge exploits, and data-availability failures. This work serves as an accessible yet rigorous reference for researchers and developers to reason about L2 security from a deep crypto-mathematical perspective.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_21055
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Layer 2 Blockchains Simplified: A Survey of Vector Commitment Schemes, ZKP Frameworks, Layer-2 Data Structures and Verkle Trees
Kaur, Ekleen
Suvajdzic, Marko
Cryptography and Security
Computers and Society
Layer-2 (L2) protocols address the fundamental limitations of Layer-1 (L1) blockchains by offloading computation while anchoring trust to the parent chain. This architectural shift, while boosting throughput, introduces a new, complex security surface defined by off-chain components like sequencers, bridges, and data availability mechanisms. Prior literature[31][33] offers fragmented views of this risk. This paper presents the first unified, security-focused survey that rigorously maps L2 architecture to its underlying cryptographic security. We dissect the technical progression from L1 primitives to the core of modern L2s, analyzing the security assumptions(Discrete Logarithm, Computational Diffie-Hellman, Bilinear Diffie-Hellman) of ZK frameworks (Groth16, Plonk) and their corresponding commitment schemes (KZG, IPA). We formalize a comprehensive L2 threat model encompassing sequencer liveness, bridge exploits, and data-availability failures. This work serves as an accessible yet rigorous reference for researchers and developers to reason about L2 security from a deep crypto-mathematical perspective.
title Layer 2 Blockchains Simplified: A Survey of Vector Commitment Schemes, ZKP Frameworks, Layer-2 Data Structures and Verkle Trees
topic Cryptography and Security
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21055