Best L2 for deploying smart contracts in 2026?

I'm a developer looking to deploy a DeFi protocol. Currently evaluating L2 options: 1. Arbitrum: Largest TVL, mature ecosystem, Nitro is fast 2. Base: Coinbase backing, growing quickly, low fees 3. Optimism: Superchain vision, OP Stack, governance 4. zkSync: ZK proofs, native account abstraction 5. Starknet: Cairo language, provable computation The protocol involves lending/borrowing, so security and liquidity are top priorities. What L2 would you recommend and why? Any developers here with deployment experience on multiple L2s?

For a lending/borrowing protocol, I'd go with Arbitrum. Here's why:

- Largest liquidity pool of any L2
- Most battle-tested infrastructure
- Solidity-native (no need to learn Cairo/LLVM)
- Great developer tooling (Hardhat, Foundry all work seamlessly)

I deployed a DEX on both Arbitrum and Base. Arbitrum was easier and had much better liquidity bootstrapping.

Consider Base if you want access to the Coinbase ecosystem. They're onboarding millions of users directly from their exchange to Base, which gives you instant distribution.

Plus, Base's fees are incredibly low since the Dencun upgrade - we're talking fractions of a cent per transaction.