I used to really stick with the mainnet, thinking it was the “authentic” way. But the moment gas started acting up, I’d start cursing the chain—when I look back, it was just me being stubborn and talking tough. Now it’s pretty simple: if you’re making small, frequent moves and want a smoother experience, just go to L2 and don’t waste time quibbling with your wallet over a few bucks in fees. And if it’s a large amount, if you’re more sensitive to the safety of your assets, or if it involves cross-chain back-and-forth, then I’d rather pay a bit more to do it on the mainnet once and be done, so I don’t end up getting stuck on a bridge for half a day and losing my mind.

Put simply, for ordinary people, there are only two compromises: don’t take on uncertainty (bridges, routing, fake frontends) just to save a few dollars in gas, and don’t turn a small swap into some kind of ceremony just to chase “peace of mind.” Lately, with rate-cut expectations and whatever is going on with the U.S. dollar index stirring things up, risk assets are acting up too—on-chain congestion is easier to run into, and slippage gets even more nasty. Anyway, my current habit is: check the routing and the estimated slippage first—if I’m not happy, I don’t click. And I’m done blaming fate.