Top Bitcoin Layer 2 coins like STX (Stacks), ELA (Elastos), and SAVM (SatoshiVM) have outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) since the Bitcoin halving event, rising 5-20% compared to just 4.7% for BTC. The outperformance comes amid a spike in Bitcoin transaction fees since the halving. Data shows the mean transaction fee soared to nearly 0.0020 BTC, the highest level since early 2018.  The surge in fees is attributed to the launch of a new protocol called Runes, which allows users to “etch” and mint tokens directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This has driven increased transaction activity and higher costs. Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions aim to scale and introduce programmability to the main Bitcoin blockchain, addressing its limitations around scalability and transaction speed. This is in contrast to Ethereum Layer 2 projects which focus on scaling the Ethereum smart contract platform. The market-beating performance of these Layer 2 Bitcoin tokens indicates growing demand and adoption of these scaling solutions as transaction volumes and costs rise on the main Bitcoin network. Source: CoinDesk