| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
Sidechains | Compared with transactions on the Ethereum chain, it is cheaper and scalable | The security of the side chain itself and the security of the cross-chain process: Once the side chain fails, the assets transferred to the side chain are very likely to be lost |
State Channels | Single transaction costs are lower; transaction privacy is guaranteed; and the fund security of participants is guaranteed | Poor user experience and usability; poor scalability of the network scalability mechanism, making it difficult to achieve other operations outside of the chain transaction |
Plasma | Gas fee is fixed; it can ensure the safety of users' assets in the case of Layer 2 failure | Lack of flexibility, transaction data is not available |
ZK Rollups | High degree of decentralization and verification efficiency, faster speed, higher throughput and scalability | The process of generating zero-knowledge proofs is complex and difficult, not only requires a lot of calculations, but also the customization development of applications is difficult, and it is difficult to realize a universal platform compatible with existing applications |
Optimistic Rollups | It is easier to implement a common platform; compatible with EVM smart contracts, reducing the workload of developers, and greatly reducing the difficulty of project migration | The verification efficiency is low, and the transaction compression rate is also lower, so the capacity scalability capability is also worse |
Validium | Uses zero-knowledge proof like ZK rollup, so it is more efficient and faster | Asset data is stored off-chain, lower security |