# The Trellis - An Ethereum Map
Just as a garden trellis provides essential support for growing plants to flourish and expand upward, Ethereum serves as the foundation for a thriving ecosystem of Layer 2 networks. The Trellis project aims to create an intuitive, dynamic visualization that reveals how these networks grow from and connect back to Ethereum's main chain.
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance seek data artist and designers to build the Trellis. This will help enterprises grasp Ethereum's multi-layer architecture without requiring deep technical knowledge. If you are not into crypto and Ethereum. Do not worry, you don't need to.
TLDR : this but pretty and dynamic for the whole Ethereum ecosystem
###### tags: `ethereum` `visualization` `L2` `data-art` `enterprise`
[TOC]
## Project Context & Vision
### Why This Visualization Matters
The Ethereum ecosystem is evolving into a complex network of Layer 2 solutions built on top of Ethereum mainnet. While this scalability approach is powerful, its complexity creates barriers for enterprise adoption. Traditional businesses struggle to understand:
- How different L2s relate to Ethereum - What is even L2?
- The maturity and security of various solutions
- Where real economic activity is happening
- Which solutions might fit their needs
### Project Goals
1. **Bridge Understanding**: Create an intuitive, visual representation that helps enterprises grasp Ethereum's multi-layer architecture without requiring deep technical knowledge
2. **Trust Building**: Demonstrate the maturity of the ecosystem by showing:
- Security stages of different solutions
- Real economic activity (stablecoin volumes)
- Network relationships and hierarchies
3. **Decision Support**: Help enterprises evaluate L2 solutions by visualizing:
- Relative scale and adoption
- Technical approaches (Optimistic vs ZK)
- Network maturity and activity
### Artistic Vision
We seek a data artist to create a visualization that:
- Balances technical accuracy with visual appeal
- Uses creative metaphors to make complex relationships clear
- Creates an engaging, interactive experience
- Maintains professionalism for enterprise audience
This visualization will be a cornerstone of EEA's enterprise engagement, used in:
- Executive presentations
- Educational materials
- Interactive website exploration
- Conference demonstrations
### Final Delivery
Single webpage , something in the spirit of https://chainviz.app/
------
## Core Concepts Explained with Analogies
### Understanding the Ethereum Ecosystem
Imagine a bustling city (Ethereum) that's becoming overcrowded. To solve this, the city builds several connected satellite towns (Layer 2s) to handle the overflow. Each town is connected back to the main city by secure transportation links (bridges).
#### Different Types of Layer 2s (Rollups)
Think of different types of satellite towns:
- Optimistic Rollups (like Arbitrum and OP): Towns that assume all activities are legitimate unless proven otherwise - like a trust-based society with a court system for disputes
- ZK Rollups: Towns that mathematically prove everything is correct - like having a perfect security camera system that validates every transaction
#### Security Stages (Stage 0,1,2)
Think of a new transportation system being developed:
**Stage 0 - Training Wheels**
- Like a new train system where the company still manually controls everything
- There are safety checks in place, but the system relies heavily on the operators
- Like having a backup driver ready to take control at any time
**Stage 1 - Safety Net**
- Like a semi-automated train system
- Most operations are automated, but there's still a control room with emergency override
- Multiple independent safety inspectors can flag issues
- Passengers can exit at any station without needing staff help
- Still has some emergency manual controls (like emergency brakes)
**Stage 2 - Full Autonomy**
- Like a fully automated train system
- Anyone can report safety issues (not just authorized inspectors)
- All safety systems are automated and transparent
- Emergency controls are strictly limited to actual technical malfunctions
- Passengers have guaranteed time to exit if system changes are announced
The higher the stage, the more automated and less dependent on human operators the system becomes.
#### Bridges
Like transportation systems connecting towns:
- Different types of bridges have different security levels
- The thickness of our visualization's connections can show how much value moves across each bridge
#### Economic Activity Metrics - TVL, Bridge, Stables
- TVL (Total Value Locked): Like the total amount of money in all bank accounts in each town
- Stablecoin Amount: Similar to how much government-backed currency (USD) is in circulation in each town
- Bridge Volume: The amount of money/assets being moved between the main city and satellite towns
------
## Core Elements
We welcome innovative approaches to visualization. While we provide baseline ideas, artists are encouraged to propose alternative:
- Network representations
- Connection types
- Security stage visualizations
- Data mapping approaches
- Interactive elements
### Network Representation
Base concept:
- Ethereum mainnet as central node
- L2 networks as satellite nodes
- Other L1s as reference points (Further away we show Bitcoin, Avalanche, Ripple...)
Network types:
- Optimistic Rollups (OP Stack)
- Optimistic Rollups (Arbitrum)
- ZK Rollups
- Layer 1s
### Connections & Relationships
Options for representing:
- Security stages (0-1-2)
- Bridge activity
- Transaction volume
### Sample Data Explained
To give a sense of scale:
**Ethereum (Main City)**
- Has $42 billion in stable currency
- Processes 4.5 million transactions daily
- Is the central hub all other networks connect to
**Arbitrum (Largest Satellite)**
- Has $1.8 billion in stable currency
- Processes 820,000 transactions daily
- Moves about $980 million worth of assets through its bridge monthly
**Base (Growing Satellite)**
- Has $380 million in stable currency
- Processes 290,000 transactions daily
- Moves about $240 million through its bridge monthly
These numbers help us understand:
- Relative size of each network (through currency amounts)
- How busy each network is (through transaction counts)
- How connected they are to Ethereum (through bridge volumes)
[Full technical data available in CSV below]
## Full Dataset Sample
### Technical Details
- TVL (Billions USD)
- Stablecoin amount (Billions USD)
- Daily transactions (Thousands)
- Security stage (0-2)
- Monthly bridge volume (Millions USD)
```csv
network_name,type,tvl_billion_usd,stablecoin_billion_usd,daily_transactions_thousands,security_stage,monthly_bridge_volume_million_usd
Ethereum,L1,48.2,42.0,4500,mainnet,N/A
Arbitrum One,optimistic_rollup_arbitrum,2.1,1.8,820,2,980
Base,optimistic_rollup_op,0.45,0.38,290,1,240
OP Mainnet,optimistic_rollup_op,0.98,0.82,380,2,520
zkSync Era,zk_rollup,0.34,0.28,180,1,190
Starknet,zk_rollup,0.29,0.24,150,1,160
Blast,optimistic_rollup_op,0.58,0.42,95,0,280
Linea,zk_rollup,0.12,0.098,82,1,85
Scroll,zk_rollup,0.18,0.15,95,1,120
Polygon zkEVM,zk_rollup,0.22,0.18,120,1,150
Mode,optimistic_rollup_op,0.045,0.038,25,0,12
Taiko,zk_rollup,0.028,0.022,18,0,8
BOB,optimistic_rollup_op,0.018,0.015,15,0,5
Bitcoin,L1,42.0,38.0,3800,N/A,N/A
Solana,L1,1.2,0.98,2200,N/A,N/A
Avalanche,L1,0.78,0.68,850,N/A,N/A
Ripple,L1,0.52,0.45,1200,N/A,N/A
Cardano,L1,0.42,0.38,950,N/A,N/A
```
## Technical Requirements
- Browser-based
- Mobile-responsive
- Easy data update - csv file is fine
- Performance optimized
## Resources / Inspirations
- [L2Beat](https://l2beat.com)
- [DeFiLlama](https://defillama.com)
- [Ethereum.org L2](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/)
### Data Viz mood board
- [Ethereum grow the pie](https://www.growthepie.xyz/)
- [Chainviz](https://chainviz.app/)
- [The old Newsmap.jp](https://rethinkingvis.com/visualizations/113)
- [Dataveyes](https://dataveyes.com/en/) Data storytellers
- [The Symphony of Blockchain](https://symphony.iohk.io/) flight simulator among Bitcoin blocks
- [BitBonkers](https://bitbonkers.netlify.app/)
- [Kraken Labs](https://labs.kraken.com/)
- [Transaction City](https://txcity.io/v/eth-btc)
- [Cosmos Map of Zones](https://www.mapofzones.com/home?columnKey=ibcVolume&period=24h)
## Next Steps
1. Artist proposals/sketches
2. Design review
3. Data integration plan
4. Interactive prototype
5. Contact Redwan @ Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
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