Protocols ⊕

It is the shared set of rules and software that tells a blockchain how transactions are checked, ordered, and finalized. Different networks make different tradeoffs around speed, cost, security, and who controls upgrades.

An L1 is the base blockchain. An L2 processes activity separately and uses an L1 for settlement or security. That can make transactions cheaper, but it adds components such as sequencers, bridges, and proof systems.

Invisible changes can alter fees, capacity, security assumptions, or what developers can build. The useful question is not whether an upgrade shipped; it is who must update, what new behavior is enabled, and what could fail during the transition.

No. Speed is one tradeoff among many. Hardware requirements, downtime risk, validator concentration, bridge assumptions, developer tooling, and the cost of recovering from failure all affect whether the speed is useful.