How the Bitcoin Layer 2 map is built
Which networks appear on our map of Bitcoin’s layers, how they are classified, where the information comes from, when it was last checked, what the map does not show, and how to report an error.
- Page reviewed
- October 22, 2026
- Cards last corrected
- October 10, 2026
- Networks on the map
- 11
The cards on the map
Read from the map itself at build time. Each row is 1 card, as the map shows it.
| Network | Tier | Category | Link to Bitcoin | Peg | Our article |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | Bitcoin | Base layer | — | — | Read |
| Lightning | Lightning Network | State Channel | HTLC channel peg | Native - funded by on-chain multisig UTXO | Read |
| Liquid | Sidechains, rollups and mints | Federated Sidechain | Federated peg (11/15) | Federated peg - 11-of-15 signers custody | Read |
| Rootstock | Sidechains, rollups and mints | Federated Sidechain | PowPeg · merge-mined | PowPeg - hybrid federation + miner-gated | Read |
| Ark | Native primitives | State Channel | Shared UTXO round | Native - unilateral exit to L1 after timeout | Read |
| Citrea | Sidechains, rollups and mints | Rollup | BitVM bridge | BitVM-based optimistic bridge | Read |
| BitVM | Native primitives | Rollup | Script primitive | It's a mechanism, not a chain - enables trust-minimized pegs | Read |
| Spark | Native primitives | Statechain | Statechain · shared signing | Federated - at least one honest operator, unilateral exit to Bitcoin | Read |
| RGB | Native primitives | Client-side Validation | Single-use seal | Anchored in Bitcoin UTXOs; data kept by users | Read |
| e-cash | Sidechains, rollups and mints | Chaumian Mint / E-Cash | Federated multisig | Redeemable for BTC via mint (often Lightning) | Read |
| Inscriptions | Native primitives | On-chain Inscription | Embedded witness data | Native - directly embedded in Bitcoin transactions | Read |
What the map is
The map of Bitcoin and its scaling layers is an editorial tool built by Off-Chain Media. It shows, on a single screen, the networks that extend Bitcoin and how each one ties back to it. Bitcoin sits at the base. Everything above it is placed on 1 axis only, how much you must trust something other than Bitcoin itself. Each network opens a card with its role, its consensus, its link to Bitcoin and the path your coins follow to enter it, and each card leads to our explainer on that network.
The map ranks nothing. It does not say which layer is best, biggest or safest. It says what each one asks you to trust.
Which networks appear
A network gets a card when all 3 conditions hold.
- It anchors funds or state in Bitcoin. Pure altcoins and chains that merely mention Bitcoin do not qualify.
- It exists beyond a whitepaper, either running in production or publicly documented with working code.
- We have published an explainer on it. Every card links to 1 of our articles, so a network we have not studied enough to write about is not on the map yet.
Some entries group several projects under 1 card because they share a model. E-cash covers Cashu and Fedimint. Inscriptions covers Ordinals, BRC-20 and Runes. BitVM is on the map as a mechanism, not a chain, because the rollups that depend on it only make sense next to it.
How networks are classified
Each card carries 3 labels, read from the map itself in the table above.
- Tier, the horizontal band it sits in. Bitcoin at the bottom, then the Lightning Network as the common exchange rail, then native primitives that need no separate chain, then sidechains, rollups and mints that run their own ledger or their own issuer.
- Category, the design family. State channel, statechain, federated sidechain, rollup, client-side validation, Chaumian mint, on-chain inscription.
- Link to Bitcoin, drawn as the edge between the network and the base. The legend distinguishes 4 kinds. Native or trust-minimized, where you can exit to Bitcoin on your own. Federated or multisig peg, where a known group holds the funds. Cryptographic peg, where a proof system guards the bridge. And Lightning connections between layers.
We draw the distinction between custody, trust assumptions and settlement as strictly as we can. A network that lets you unilaterally recover your coins on Bitcoin is not in the same class as one where a federation must sign your withdrawal, even if both call themselves layer 2. Our glossary defines each of these terms.
Sources
The cards are written from the projects’ own documentation and code, cross-read with our articles, which cite their sources. Where a figure appears on a card, such as Liquid’s 11-of-15 threshold, it comes from the project’s published specification. We do not use market data, total value locked or token prices on the map, and we do not rely on third-party rankings.
Freshness
The map is a static document. It does not refresh on its own, and a card describes a network as it stood when we last reviewed it. The 2 dates above tell you when the page was last read through and when the cards were last corrected. Cards are revised when we publish or update the explainer they link to, and when a reader reports an error. There is no fixed cadence. A network that changed its design since its card was written may be out of date until then.
What the map does not show
- It covers 11 networks, chosen by the criteria above. Absence from the map is not a judgement on a project.
- It shows no metrics. No capacity, no users, no value locked. Our data pages and the Lightning Network map cover figures, with their own sources and dates.
- Categories are simplified. Real designs mix models, and 1 label per card cannot carry every nuance. The card’s text and our article do.
- Trust is a spectrum that we reduce to 4 kinds of link. Within “federated”, a 15-member federation with hardware modules and a 2-person multisig are not equivalent.
- The map reflects our reading. Another editor could place a borderline network differently, and we say so on the card when a classification is debated.
Independence
The map is produced by Off-Chain Media’s editorial team. Presence on the map, placement and wording are not for sale, and no project pays to appear or to be described in a given way. Our about page lists the companies we have worked with on other content.
Reporting an error
If a card is wrong, outdated or unfair, write to contact@offchain.media with the network’s name and, if possible, a link to the documentation that contradicts us. Corrections are made in the map’s source, and the date of last correction above moves accordingly. You can also reach us on X at @mariusoffchain.
Reusing the map
The map and its cards are published under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence, like the rest of the site. You may embed, quote and adapt them for non-commercial use with attribution to Off-Chain Media and a link to the map.