Arkham cuts three Layer 2 networks from analytics service
Arkham Intelligence, a crypto analytics platform, announced it will stop supporting the Linea blockchain on its platform starting January 11. The decision came after what Arkham described as a periodic review process. They evaluate chains based on user demand and what they call “importance to the crypto industry.”
Arkham shared the news about Linea on January 9 through their official X account. They mentioned that Linea, which is an Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Consensys, didn’t meet their criteria. The exact criteria weren’t specified in the post, which left room for speculation.
Looking at the comments section, many users guessed that Linea might not be generating enough activity. Or perhaps there’s just not enough user interest to justify the maintenance costs. It’s hard to say for sure without Arkham providing more details.
Not just Linea affected
Linea isn’t the only network getting cut. Manta blockchain and the Blast network are also scheduled for removal on January 11. Arkham announced all three removals within days of each other, right after the new year began.
What’s interesting is that last year, there weren’t any records of similar drops by Arkham. This suggests maybe they’re starting a new trend of regularly pruning less relevant or less used chains. It could be part of some routine optimization effort on their end.
Reactions to the news have been mixed. Some users expressed concerns about reduced visibility for Linea and Manta. Without Arkham’s analytics, it might become harder to track token movements or potential dumps. That transparency loss could matter for traders and researchers who rely on these tools.
Which Layer 2 networks survived?
According to data from Arkham’s platform, several Ethereum Layer 2 networks made it through this recent culling. The survivors include Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, Optimism, and Polygon—specifically Polygon zkEVM.
These are all well-known Ethereum scaling solutions. They’ve gained relevance partly thanks to the Dencun upgrade from 2024. That upgrade changed how transactions work by outsourcing execution to the L2s. This made the relationship between Ethereum and its layer-2 networks less parasitic, I think.
Ethereum upgrades changing the landscape
The Dencun upgrade introduced something called protodanksharding, which uses “blobs.” These blobs provide dedicated space for L2 data that doesn’t compete with standard Ethereum transactions. It was a pivotal change that made the whole layer-2 concept more viable.
In 2025, subsequent upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka built on Dencun by increasing blob capacity. But Dencun was really the game-changer, if you can call it that without using buzzwords.
Looking ahead, the next major upgrade is Glasterdam, scheduled for the first half of 2026. This upgrade is expected to significantly increase the number of blobs Ethereum can handle, which should boost L2 capacity. There are also plans for full danksharding to increase blob capacity further, but the timeline for that remains unclear.
All these technical improvements have freed Ethereum’s main layer to focus on being a secure settlement and data availability layer. Meanwhile, the actual transaction traffic gets outsourced to the L2s. This shift has increased the relevance of surviving L2 networks, ensuring they’ll likely continue seeing usage across key metrics as more users transact on Ethereum.
It’s worth noting that Arkham’s decision reflects their assessment of which chains matter most right now. But importance can change over time as the ecosystem evolves. What seems less relevant today might become crucial tomorrow, depending on how development and adoption patterns shift.
