Paper 2026/1666

Rate-Limiting Nullifiers for Gasless Sequencer Admission in Ethereum Layer-2 Rollups

Abstract

Blockchain networks rely on transaction fees for resource allocation and spam prevention. Ethereum's gas mechanism and its adoption by Layer-2 rollups serve this dual purpose, but gas-based fee markets produce unintended consequences: ineffective spam deterrence at low fee levels, poor user experience, privacy leakage, and revenue instability for rollup operators. We present an idealized protocol architecture for gasless sequencer admission in Ethereum Layer-2 rollups based on Rate-Limiting Nullifiers (RLN) and a non-transferable reputation token (Karma). Users transact within a per-epoch gasless quota. Transactions beyond that quota use a gas-paid overflow path. RLN enforces the quota via zero-knowledge membership proofs, preserving pseudonymity for users within quota against on-chain observers while exposing violators through reputation slashing. We present the architecture and transaction flow, analyze spam-attack economics through a parameterized cost comparison on a flat per-identity quota model (labeled flat-$N$, an analysis model for the spam stress test), and describe Status Network (SN), a deployed Ethereum L2 that implements this design.