Responding to 1,000%+ spike in Ethereum fees, Synthetix is testing layer-2 tech

Due to natural constraints on the Ethereum blockchain, this period of growth has meant that transaction fees have quickly reached unsustainable levels for most users where it makes little sense to transact small sums.

One user, "Lukazo," commented on Reddit earlier this year that he paid $8 to stake $230 in Synthetix Network Token - and that was when gas fees were around 50-80 percent below what they are now.

Responding to this, Synthetix is moving forward with attempting to migrate some aspects of the protocol to a layer-two scaling solution to better the user experience.

After many months of development, the Ethereum development group Optimism rolled out a testnet for Optimistic Ethereum on Sep.

Optimistic is a network built on Optimistic Rollups, which is a technology that allows Ethereum transactions to take place on a faster and cheaper second layer while still maintaining the security of the main blockchain.

The launch allows eligible SNX stakers, meaning those with one to 2,500 coins in their balance, to stake and claim staking rewards, which will then be claimable with Optimistic Ethereum is fully rolled out in the coming months.

Many in the space see this as a notable step forward for Ethereum and for DeFi, which as aforementioned has suffered due to high transaction fees and slow block times.

"This is a huge milestone for Synthetix, Optimistic Ethereum, and indeed the entire Ethereum space Launching SNX staking on OE is a crucial step towards full scalability for the burgeoning DeFi ecosystem, truly allowing anyone around the world access to open financial infrastructure without the friction of high gas costs."

As reported by CryptoSlate previously, comments from Uniswap's founder compiled by Twitter user Jason Smith indicate that the team behind the Ethereum protocol is excited about Optimistic Rollups.

It has been said that Uniswap may be the most important protocol to scale in the near term as it is the biggest user of gas on the Ethereum blockchain.