L2BEAT Stages Explained: What Rollup Stage 0, 1 and 2 Mean
Quick answer. L2BEAT, now ETHBEAT, rates how much a rollup depends on people. Stage 0 is run by a few entities, Stage 1 lets only 75% of a Security Council override the proofs, and Stage 2 is run by code.
Video transcript
A rollup's stage tells you who can stop your withdrawal, or approve a fake one. For anyone holding assets on a layer 2, that is the core risk question.
L2BEAT, now called ETHBEAT, rates how much a rollup depends on people. That measures decentralization, not security.
Stage 0 is run by a few entities. Stage 1 needs 75 percent of a Security Council to override the proofs. Stage 2 is run by code, with thirty days to exit.
On November 5, 2026, only four of 22 rollups were Stage 2, securing under one million dollars combined.
Base, Arbitrum One and OP Mainnet are Stage 1, yet Base and OP Mainnet show no exit window. Mantle and Lighter each secure over a billion dollars at Stage 0.
Stages leave gaps. Bugs can lose funds at any stage, other bridges and issuers sit outside the rating, a fast council can act against you, and delays and chain quirks go unmeasured.
To check a rollup, open it on ETHBEAT, read the items missing, check the five risks, find the Security Council, and record the date.
Size positions by exit window and council, not the badge alone. Deployers, your users inherit the chain's stage. And recheck after every upgrade.
Guardian underwrites the code, its controllers and its bridges, then monitors control changes. Read the full article, or talk to Guardian.
A rollup's stage tells you who can stop your withdrawal, or approve a fake one. For anyone holding assets on a layer 2, that is the core risk question.
L2BEAT's Stages Framework is the standard shorthand for it. L2BEAT has since renamed itself ETHBEAT, and l2beat.com now redirects to ethbeat.org.
The framework and every assessment are unchanged, ETHBEAT says. Here is what each stage requires, where major rollups stood on November 5, 2026, and how to use stages in diligence.
What Stages Measure
Stages measure decentralization, not security. ETHBEAT's explainer says "it is very easy for a team to deploy a very unsafe but Stage 2 project."
Control moves from a few operators, to a Security Council, to code. ETHBEAT labels the three stages full, limited and no training wheels.
Three terms do most of the work:
- Security Council: a multisig that can act in emergencies, including instant upgrades at Stage 1.
- Exit window: the time users have to leave before an unwanted upgrade takes effect.
- Proof system: fraud or validity proofs that decide whether a posted state root is correct.
Stage 0, 1 and 2 Criteria
This is ETHBEAT's specification, which it calls the source of truth, as of its April 30, 2026 update.
| Stage 0 | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can override | A few entities | At least 75% of the Security Council | No one, except on provable onchain bugs |
| Proof system | Required; 5+ external fraud provers | 5-day challenge period if optimistic | Fraud proofs open to anyone |
| Exit window | Not required | 5 days for non-council upgrades | 30 days, DAO upgrades included |
| Security Council | Not required | 8+ members, 75% threshold | Acts only on provable onchain bugs |
Stage 0: the floor
Stage 0 is the minimum for being called a rollup. The project must:
- call itself a rollup
- post its state roots to Ethereum
- publish on Ethereum all data needed to rebuild its state
- make node software that rebuilds the state source-available
- run a proper proof system, with at least 5 external fraud provers if optimistic
Stage 1: a council as the backstop
One principle decides Stage 1. Bugs aside, blocking a withdrawal indefinitely or pushing an invalid one must require compromising at least 75% of the Security Council.
- The council needs at least 8 members and a 75% threshold.
- Members should be diverse and disclosed, by name or pseudonym. One entity's addresses count once.
- Upgrades from anyone else need an exit window of at least 5 days.
- Optimistic rollups need a challenge period of at least 5 days.
On April 30, 2026, ETHBEAT cut the Stage 1 minimum challenge period from 7 days to 5. The same edit cut the minimum exit window to 5 days.
Its explainer, glossary and project pages still say 7. Go by the specification.
Stage 2: code in charge
- Anyone can submit fraud proofs, not just an allowlist.
- Users get at least 30 days to exit an unwanted upgrade, including a DAO's.
- The council can act only on adjudicable onchain bugs, such as two valid contradicting proofs.
Where Major Rollups Stand
On November 5, 2026, ETHBEAT listed 22 rollups: 4 at Stage 2, 6 at Stage 1 and 12 at Stage 0. These are the seven largest by value secured.
| Rollup | Stage | Proofs | Exit window | Value secured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Stage 1 | Fraud | None | $14.21B |
| Arbitrum One | Stage 1 | Fraud | 10 days; none in emergencies | $9.42B |
| OP Mainnet | Stage 1 | Fraud | None | $1.49B |
| Mantle | Stage 0 | Validity | None | $1.21B |
| Lighter | Stage 0 | Validity | None | $1.07B |
| Ink | Stage 1 | Fraud | None | $365M |
| Starknet | Stage 1 | Validity | 7 days; none in emergencies | $337M |
Stage 1 still allows instant upgrades by the council. Base, OP Mainnet and Ink show no exit window at all.
Base, Arbitrum One, OP Mainnet and Ink pass ETHBEAT's walkaway test: users can exit even if operators misbehave and the Security Council disappears. Starknet does not.
Stage 0 is not fringe. Mantle and Lighter, an exchange appchain, each secure over $1 billion.
ETHBEAT lists what each one is missing. For ZKsync Era, a Stage 0 rollup securing $221 million, a compromised quorum-blocking minority of its council can prevent users from exiting.
Stage 2 is still small. Facet, Aztec v6, Ethscriptions and Cartesi's bug-bounty appchain Honeypot v2 secure less than $1 million between them.
What Stages Do Not Measure
ETHBEAT puts it on every row: "stages do not reflect project security." Five gaps matter most.
- Bugs. An experimental proof system or unaudited contracts can lose funds at any stage.
- Other bridges and issuers. Stages cover the canonical bridge, not tokens arriving another way.
- Council conduct. A council that can act fast can act for you or against you.
- Delays. Stage 1 asks whether a withdrawal can be blocked indefinitely, not how long it can wait.
- Your chain's quirks. Opcodes, precompiles and gas rules differ between chains.
On issuers, ETHBEAT's own Stage 1 guidance notes that Circle could still prevent USDC withdrawals from dYdX v3. For third-party bridges, see LayerZero vs Chainlink CCIP.
On councils, Arbitrum's froze 30,766 ETH of the attacker's funds after the Kelp DAO exploit. That protects users, and it is also a trust assumption.
On quirks, our custom EVM audit guide covers what changes and what to test.
Using Stages in Diligence
How to check a rollup's stage
- Open the project on ethbeat.org.
- Read the stage, then the "Items missing" list beneath it.
- Check the five risks: sequencer failure, state validation, data availability, exit window, proposer failure.
- Find the Security Council: members, threshold and what it can upgrade instantly.
- Record the date. ETHBEAT updated the requirements five times between March 2025 and April 2026.
What it means for institutions and deployers
- Allocators: size positions by exit window and council, not the stage badge alone.
- Treasuries: note which tokens use the canonical bridge and which rely on an issuer or third party.
- Deployers: your users inherit the chain's stage, including who can upgrade beneath you.
- Everyone: recheck after every upgrade, since a stage can drop.
For timelocks and exit windows in your own contracts, see our upgrade change management guide.
How Guardian Helps
Guardian's work for capital allocators underwrites a position on the deployed code behind it, who controls that code, and its dependencies, including bridges.
Monitoring then flags signer, threshold, timelock and role changes, the moves that quietly alter who can take your money.
For teams building on a rollup, Guardian's audits and pentests cover the contracts and the systems around them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Stage 1 rollup?
A rollup where blocking a withdrawal indefinitely, or pushing an invalid one, requires compromising at least 75% of a Security Council of 8 or more members. Upgrades by anyone else must give users at least 5 days to exit.
Is a Stage 2 rollup safe?
Not necessarily. Stage 2 means code, not people, is in control, with 30 days to exit unwanted upgrades. ETHBEAT warns that a team can easily ship a very unsafe Stage 2 project, for example with an experimental proof system.
Is L2BEAT the same as ETHBEAT?
Yes. L2BEAT renamed itself ETHBEAT as its work grew beyond layer 2s, and l2beat.com now redirects to ethbeat.org. It says the Stages framework and every assessment are unchanged.
Which rollups are Stage 2?
On November 5, 2026, ETHBEAT rated four of its 22 rollups Stage 2: Facet, Aztec v6, Ethscriptions and Cartesi's bug-bounty Honeypot v2. Together they secure under $1 million. The largest rollups, Base, Arbitrum One and OP Mainnet, are Stage 1.
Sources
- L2BEAT forum: The Stages Framework specification, ETHBEAT's source of truth (changelog to April 30, 2026)
- L2BEAT forum: Stage 1 update, minimum challenge period reduction from 7d to 5d (April 30, 2026)
- L2BEAT forum: Stages update, a high-level guiding principle for Stage 1 (January 29, 2025)
- ETHBEAT: The Stages Framework explainer (last updated July 23, 2025)
- ETHBEAT: Layer 2s summary, stages and value secured (read November 5, 2026)
- ETHBEAT: Glossary, Security Council and exit window (read November 5, 2026)
- ETHBEAT: L2BEAT is now ETHBEAT (read November 5, 2026)
- Guardian: Kelp DAO Hack, The rsETH Exploit and What It Means for LRTs (2026)
Underwrite the chain, not just the protocol
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