Taiko Alethia ¹

The L2 that can't be shut down — Ethereum itself runs it, not some company's servers. If other L2s are like hosted websites, Taiko is like BitTorrent.

Unique Position Taiko has no central operator that can censor transactions or go offline. Ethereum's own network handles everything, so Taiko keeps running as long as Ethereum exists. Perfect Ethereum compatibility means all tools and contracts work unchanged.

Primary Use Cases

• Censorship-resistant applications requiring unstoppable operation
• DeFi protocols avoiding centralized sequencer risk
• Projects needing exact Ethereum behavior unchanged
• Gaming and trading apps using preconfirmations for speed
• Applications prioritizing decentralization over cost

Ecosystem Character Decentralization-first community valuing permissionless operation over growth metrics. DeFi protocols like Ritsu and Meridian choose Taiko for sequencer resistance. Smaller ecosystem accepts trade-offs for true decentralization. Developer culture prioritizes correctness and censorship resistance over performance.

Trade-offs

• Smaller ecosystem with less liquidity than established L2s
• Based design limits MEV extraction compared to centralized sequencers
• Type-1 zkEVM slower to prove than optimized custom VMs
• Proving infrastructure still evolving toward full decentralization
• Higher costs than centralized L2s due to decentralized operation

Technical Details

Architecture Type-1 zkEVM with complete bytecode equivalence to Ethereum including opcodes and gas model. Based rollup design allows any Ethereum validator to propose blocks without permission. No separate consensus layer — inherits Ethereum's consensus directly. Preconfirmation system provides fast UX while maintaining decentralization.

Performance Preconfirmations deliver approximately 2-second transaction acknowledgment before final settlement. Final confirmation follows Ethereum L1 cadence for maximum security. No artificial throughput limits but constrained by Ethereum blob space and proof generation capacity.

Security & Trust Model Every block validated through ZK proofs with no fraud windows or optimistic assumptions. Based sequencing ensures no single entity controls transaction ordering. Posts all data to Ethereum via EIP-4844 blobs maintaining full availability. Permissionless proving allows anyone to validate state transitions.

Control & Governance No centralized sequencer — Ethereum validators collectively sequence transactions. Permissionless block proposing and proving prevents gatekeeping. Taiko Labs provides development but cannot control network operation. Most decentralized L2 architecture currently operational.