Abstract To Shut Down Ethereum Layer-2, Skip Token Launch

Igloo, the company behind Abstract, will close the network on Dec. 15. Users must withdraw their assets before the deadline. Funds left on Abstract after that date will become inaccessible.

In a statement, Igloo cited stagnant growth, limited decentralized finance activity, thin liquidity and limited institutional adoption. Igloo CEO Luca Netz said the company had spent “tens of millions of dollars” supporting the network. The company considered launching a token to fund Abstract but decided against it.

Abstract hosted 144 applications and attracted brands including Disney and Red Bull Racing. Data from DeFiLlama showed that the network had 41,078 daily active addresses, $9.7 million in decentralized finance total value locked and $6.4 million in stablecoins. Daily decentralized exchange volume was about $398,134, while daily chain revenue was approximately $2,876.

Coinbase-backed Base had 325,671 daily active addresses, $6.4 billion in decentralized finance total value locked, $5.2 billion in stablecoins and more than $1 billion in daily decentralized exchange volume. Base had about 7.9 times as many daily active addresses as Abstract, while its decentralized finance value was roughly 662 times larger and its decentralized exchange volume was more than 2,700 times higher.

Abstract’s closure follows shutdowns and migrations by other Ethereum layer-2 networks. Blast cited maintenance costs that exceeded revenue and gave users until Oct. 26 to move assets to Ethereum’s mainnet. Silicon stopped accepting new bridge deposits on Sept. 3 and set Dec. 31 as the withdrawal deadline.

Sophon migrated its consumer applications to Base in June instead of continuing to operate its own layer-2 network. The change was expected to reduce annual costs by about $3 million from approximately $3.4 million spent on infrastructure, rollup services, data and other tools.

Other networks also reported relatively low activity. Scroll had about $8.7 million in decentralized finance total value locked and daily chain revenue of $57. Mode had nearly $2 million in total value locked and approximately $1,741 in daily decentralized exchange volume. Taiko had about $243,822 in total value locked and roughly $205 in daily decentralized exchange volume. Zora had about $47,528 in total value locked and approximately $1.86 in daily decentralized exchange volume.

A recent academic paper found that Ethereum upgrades through March 2026 doubled throughput on the mainnet and layer-2 networks. Median mainnet fees fell from more than $2 to less than $0.02, while median layer-2 fees fell by more than 95%, from $0.05 to $0.0015.

The lower fees have increased competition among layer-2 networks for users, applications and liquidity. Abstract’s developers have not announced whether its applications will move to another network, narrow their focus or end operations.