A new research report from Cryptopolitan reveals that Web3 is shifting to modular architectures. It goes away from monolithic block chains such as Solana and Pre-Rollup Ethereum.
The study, available under Cryptopolitan’s Reports section Emphasizes a wave of the interest of developers and rising acceptance of rollups as important signals of this transition.
According to the new Cryptopolitan report, modular chains better reflect the core values of Web3. They emphasize decentralization, specialization and open innovation.
In monolithic architectures, blockchain functions such as consensus, availability of data, implementation and settlement are strictly integrated and executed on the same layer. Modular block chains disconnect these components and distribute responsibilities on different layers or systems for improved performance and flexibility.
More rollups are live on public test nets
Monolithic block chains work with all core functions – implementation, consensus and availability of data – interconnected. This design means problems in one layer, such as implementation errors or heavy transaction taxes, can directly influence the entire system and even disrupt the consensus. Network congestion in monolithic systems has even caused several system -wide malfunctions.
Ideally, the improvements of the monolithic design in scalability often mean a weakening of security. Modular architecture overcomes this limitation by disconnecting the implementation of consensus, so that both can be scaled independently while retaining robust security.
Fragmentation can weaken the cohesion and liquidity of the network, but modular architectures support faster innovation, tailor -made functionality and horizontal scalability.
Modular architecture also makes data availability, settlement and implementation possible to develop independently and parallel. In addition, shared settlement strokes offer a safe basis for interaction between layers, which means that various applications can work together in the implementation strokes, and richer composability and safer multi-chaorde coordination.
The modular shift is still in the early days, but the momentum is growing. By 2026 we will probably see an increase in Rollup acquisitions, coordination at ecosystem level and the standardization of tooling. Data availability layers such as Celestia and Besice are expected to take the lead as the choice for developers. Execution layers, on the other hand, are expected to evolve into very specialized, niche solutions.
The report notes that more than 40 rollups are in production live or are available on public test nets. L2 development is also an increase of 230% JoJ, with optimism, arbitrum and basis that stimulates the most Github activity.
The interest of the developer in modular blockchain tools is increasing. Since he went live at the end of 2023, Celestia has accelerated the adoption, with its DA layer integrated by more than 25 modular chains Early phase rollouts and testnets.
Since 2022, modular infrastructure projects have collected more than $ 400 million. Some remarkable financing rounds include ECLIPSE with $ 50 million, available with $ 27 million and dymension with $ 6.7 million.
Cosmos SDK has also experienced an increase of 13% in the monthly active developers on an annual basis. In addition, Celestia-based rollups attracted more than 100 developers in Q1 2025. In addition, Celestia, Rollkit and Beskit have seen Github activity with more than 50%jump since the end of last year.
Ethereum Blockchain shifts to a modular architecture
The Ethereum -Blockchain recorded Rollups and became the official transition from the network of monolithic to modular architecture. In September 2022, Ethereum “The Merge” upgraded the Layer 2-network scale to better help the Layer 1 network, shifted from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake system.
Ethereum now has daily transactions up to 11 million, an increase of 1 million on L1 a year earlier. End users also see more than 99% lower transaction costs, and the network reaches higher transit without jeopardizing the fundamental security of layer 1.
In addition, the Ethereum rollups are tailored to various use cases, including Defi, Gaming or Identity, which in turn stimulates ecosystem -divergentity and spurs innovation.
The rollups also simply communicate because their formats are standardized, as blobs, and there is a common layer of security in Ethereum. Off-chain they process thousands of transactions per second: they use the safety of Ethereum by establishing periodically on-chain.
ZK-Rollups achieve similar scalability through cryptographic evidence that offer immediate finality. Both methods deliver more than 100x transit improvements without jeopardizing their underlying settlement strokes.
As Rollups get grip, some experts develop more hybrid block chains that contain the most important elements of both monolithic and modular architectures. Hybrid models are intended to find a balance – maintaining the simplicity of monolithic systems and at the same time embedding modular elements that make greater scalability and flexibility possible.