The Merge won’t negatively affect L2, say Immutable X’s CTO

The Ethereum Merge has been completed, but Immutable X’s CTO says the Merge won’t hurt layer-2 platforms like Immutable X.

Alex Connolly, CTO of Immutable X, revealed in a recent blog post that the Ethereum Merge wouldn’t hurt layer-2 platforms like Immutable X and Polygon.

The Ethereum blockchain completed the highly-anticipated Merge event a few hours ago. This means that the Ethereum blockchain now runs proof of stake mechanism after moving away from its previous proof of work mechanism.

Ahead of the Merge, Connolly discussed the event and how it would affect Layer-2 protocols in the Ethereum ecosystem. The CTO said the Merge would make Immutable X a better protocol. He said;

“In fact, the Merge and its subsequent efficiency upgrades will make us better equipped in our mission to power the next generation of Web3 games through 100% carbon-neutral, gas-free NFT scaling technology. And for that, we are incredibly excited. 

As for immediate impacts, the transfer to proof-of-stake will significantly reduce both the energy consumption of Immutable X and its partners. Since day one, we’ve remained committed to purchasing carbon credits needed to offset the energy footprint of any NFT created or traded on Immutable. Lower total energy usage results in the purchase of fewer carbon credits which frees up more resources for Immutable to invest back into ecological sustainability. A win for all.”

Immutable X’s CTO believes that the Merge doesn’t immediately fix Ethereum’s scalability problems. Hence, the reason why Layer-2s remain very important within the ecosystem. He said;

“Many of the promised scalability features around sharding and throughput increases are expected to arrive by the end of 2023. In the meantime, Immutable X will continue to offer unparalleled L2 scaling solutions capable of processing more than 10,000 transactions per second, while acting as a key partner for games that see hundreds of millions of daily transactions.”

There have been concerns regarding L2s that have become very popular in the Ethereum community. However, most of them believe that their roles in the industry would not change despite the Ethereum Merge.