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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt means running a blockchain network your organization controls, instead of only building on top of someone else’s. The chain can be fully independent, or it can plug into an existing ecosystem like Ethereum and borrow its security. That single decision shapes cost, speed, and how much engineering you own.<\/p>\n\n\n
Layer 1, Layer 2, and appchains, in plain terms<\/h3>\n\n\n
A Layer 1 (L1)<\/strong> is a base blockchain with its own validators and its own security, like Ethereum or Avalanche. A Layer 2 (L2)<\/strong>, usually a rollup<\/a>, runs transactions off a base chain and posts proofs back to it, inheriting that chain’s security while cutting fees. An appchain<\/strong> is a blockchain built for one application or company rather than for general use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a large enterprise, the practical split is this: build an L2 and you lean on an existing network’s security and users. Build a sovereign L1 and you control everything, including the hard parts.<\/p>\n\n\n A public<\/strong> chain lets anyone read it, transact, and run infrastructure. A private<\/strong> or permissioned<\/strong> chain restricts who can join and who can validate, which suits regulated data and closed consortia. Many enterprises land in between: a permissioned validator set on technology that can later open up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trade-off is direct. Public chains give you reach, composability, and outside liquidity. Permissioned chains give you privacy and control, at the cost of network effects.<\/p>\n\n\n Because owning the chain means owning the rules. A company that controls its own network sets the fee token, the block times, the validator set, and the compliance logic, rather than inheriting whatever a public chain offers. It can also capture value that would otherwise leak to a third-party network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The motivations tend to cluster:<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of this is theoretical anymore. The tooling has matured to the point where more chains launched in just the past year or two<\/a> than in the decade before, as managed deployment services removed most of the engineering barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n Several of the world’s largest companies already run their own networks, across very different industries. The pattern started with crypto-native firms and spread quickly to banks, cloud providers, and payment companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coinbase set the template with Base, a public L2 that became one of the most active networks in crypto. Sony followed for consumer and entertainment use, launching its Soneium network in January 2025<\/a> on the same underlying technology; its testnet alone drew over 14 million users and 50 million transactions before mainnet. On the institutional side, JPMorgan rolled out its JPMD deposit token on the public Base network<\/a>, and Google Cloud began building its own Layer 1 for institutional payments<\/a>. Payments company Stripe went further and introduced a payments-focused blockchain called Tempo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPublic, private, or permissioned?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Why would a Fortune 500 company build its own blockchain?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Which large companies have already launched a chain?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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