<p><a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-0</a></p>
<p><a href="https://insights.tokenmetrics.com/layer-0-blockchain-protocols/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://insights.tokenmetrics.com/layer-0-blockchain-protocols/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/horizen-and-the-importance-of-layer-0-blockchains" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://dappradar.com/blog/horizen-and-the-importance-of-layer-0-blockchains</a></p>
<p>A few links to articles detailing 'Layer 0', hope this is insightful.</p>
<p>According to Benjamin Diggles, the co-founder and CSO of Constellation Network,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Layer 0 protocol is the first layer among all blockchain protocols,
connecting seamlessly with all other protocols to build interconnected
value chains, offering a more robust and evolved alternative to smart
contracts.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-31T00:13:31.560Z
When referencing external docs, please follow the guidelines in the help. https://cardano.stackexchange.com/help/referencing
gRebel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-30T21:04:05.030Z
2022-05-31T10:54:17.840Z
2022-05-31T10:54:17.840Z
Rust_Dev
<p>Lets start by saying that all of these &quot;Layer X&quot; terms are non-technical and the differences are not clearly defined. Generally, a Layer 1 (L1) protocol is one with its own ledger &amp; consensus mechanisms, whereas a Layer 2 (L2) protocol is one that builds on and leverages these mechanisms for (more) specific use cases. Things get confusing because this L2 definition applies to and has been used to describe everything from payment/state channels (i.e. Lightning/Hydra for Bitcoin/Cardano, respectively), sidechains (i.e. Milkomeda), rollups (i.e. Polygon for Ethereum), e.t.c., even though all of these are very different from each other.</p>
<p>Following this, intuition suggests that &quot;Layer 0&quot; is also a bit of an ambiguous term that refers to the system(s) that L1s build and depend on for their functioning. TCP/IP and the internet itself is one component of this &quot;Layer 0&quot;. The legacy fiat monetary system can also be thought of as a part of this Layer 0 since most people (at least for now), must use it to onboard to crypto.</p>
<p>Layer 0 has also been used to define projects like Cosmos or Polkdadot, which focus on solving the interoperability problem by creating a &quot;blockchain of blockchains&quot;. Charles may have commented on Cardano being the &quot;Perfect Layer 0&quot; because of its (future) native support for interoperability, using the main L1 chain for secure settlement.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-29T19:57:12.850Z
2022-05-29T19:57:12.850Z
zhekson
<p>The only true &quot;layer 0&quot; I am aware of is Polkadot.</p>
<p>The parachains are the &quot;layer 1&quot; and the relay chain is the &quot;layer 0&quot; that simply performs one function and one function only, relaying the XCM requests between the parachains.</p>
<p>I'm sure he meant layer 1.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-29T05:49:50.630Z
2022-05-29T05:49:50.630Z
intrinsic-values
<p>Someone told me that in a previous video Charles said cardano has the best layer 0. Did he mean Layer 1 or was this intentional?</p>
<p>Either way, what is a layer 0? And how do you interface with it from Layer 1 or from Layer 2?</p>

<blockchain>
What is Layer 0?
# What is Layer 0?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-27)

Someone told me that in a previous video Charles said cardano has the best layer 0. Did he mean Layer 1 or was this intentional?

Either way, what is a layer 0? And how do you interface with it from Layer 1 or from Layer 2?

**Tags:** blockchain

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-30. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

<https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-0>

<https://insights.tokenmetrics.com/layer-0-blockchain-protocols/>

<https://dappradar.com/blog/horizen-and-the-importance-of-layer-0-blockchains>

A few links to articles detailing 'Layer 0', hope this is insightful.

According to Benjamin Diggles, the co-founder and CSO of Constellation Network,

> "Layer 0 protocol is the first layer among all blockchain protocols,
> connecting seamlessly with all other protocols to build interconnected
> value chains, offering a more robust and evolved alternative to smart
> contracts."

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: When referencing external docs, please follow the guidelines in the help. https://cardano.stackexchange.com/help/referencing  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-05-29. Score: 1

Lets start by saying that all of these "Layer X" terms are non-technical and the differences are not clearly defined. Generally, a Layer 1 (L1) protocol is one with its own ledger & consensus mechanisms, whereas a Layer 2 (L2) protocol is one that builds on and leverages these mechanisms for (more) specific use cases. Things get confusing because this L2 definition applies to and has been used to describe everything from payment/state channels (i.e. Lightning/Hydra for Bitcoin/Cardano, respectively), sidechains (i.e. Milkomeda), rollups (i.e. Polygon for Ethereum), e.t.c., even though all of these are very different from each other.

Following this, intuition suggests that "Layer 0" is also a bit of an ambiguous term that refers to the system(s) that L1s build and depend on for their functioning. TCP/IP and the internet itself is one component of this "Layer 0". The legacy fiat monetary system can also be thought of as a part of this Layer 0 since most people (at least for now), must use it to onboard to crypto.

Layer 0 has also been used to define projects like Cosmos or Polkdadot, which focus on solving the interoperability problem by creating a "blockchain of blockchains". Charles may have commented on Cardano being the "Perfect Layer 0" because of its (future) native support for interoperability, using the main L1 chain for secure settlement.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-05-29. Score: 1

The only true "layer 0" I am aware of is Polkadot.

The parachains are the "layer 1" and the relay chain is the "layer 0" that simply performs one function and one function only, relaying the XCM requests between the parachains.

I'm sure he meant layer 1.


---

