Vitalik Buterin is signaling a significant reorganization of Ethereum’s layer 2 narrative. This implies not the tip of rollups, however the finish of the concept L2 is a shard whose main job is community scaling. He argues that with L1 charges at present low and fuel limits anticipated to extend quickly in 2026, the unique premise of the rollup-centric roadmap not suits the truth on the bottom.
Buterin opened his X publish on February 3 by stating two pressures which have been constructing concurrently. L2 has moved into “Part 2” rather more slowly than anticipated, and the Ethereum mainnet is scaling by itself. In his phrases, this tendency breaks outdated psychological fashions in each instructions.
“Ethereum must scale,” he wrote, summarizing how he framed his unique thesis. “The definition of ‘Ethereum scaling’ is that there exists a big block area backed by the complete belief and credit score of Ethereum… Once you carry out operations (together with ETH) inside that block area, your exercise is legitimate, uncensored, non-reversible, and untouched so long as Ethereum itself operates on that block area. Making a 10000 TPS EVM whose connection to the L1 is mediated by a multi-signature bridge won’t scale Ethereum.”
The purpose is blunt. “This imaginative and prescient not is sensible.” Buterin stated that as base tier capability scales, L1s don’t want L2s to behave as “branded shards” and lots of are more and more skeptical that L2s can or need to meet the safety and management expectations implied by the label. He pointed to at the very least one L2 that “might not need to transcend step 1,” citing customer-centric regulatory necessities that “demand final management” in addition to technical considerations about ZK-EVM security.
The necessity for change in Ethereum Layer-2
It’s not offered as an indictment a lot as a change in classification. If L2 retains final management, it could nonetheless be a legitimate product for customers, however it shouldn't be marketed as an “extension of Ethereum” within the strict sense envisioned within the rollup-centric roadmap, Buterin advised. In that context, he argues, “we have to cease considering that L2 is actually a ‘model shard’ and that it has the social standing and duties that include it.”
As an alternative, he describes a spectral mannequin. Some L2s could also be tightly backed by ETH's safety ensures, whereas others could also be extra loosely and selectively supported relying on person wants. This framing of the spectrum implicitly makes room for per-app chains, totally different belief fashions, and non-EVM environments with out forcing a single “roll as much as shards” storyline.
For L2 groups, Buterin's steerage is straightforward: Don't repair ID by extension alone. When coping with ETH or Ethereum issued property, “at the very least the 1st step” is essential, he argues. In any other case it will successfully act as a “separate L1 with a bridge”. In his view, the true differentiators ought to be options and attributes that the bigger L1 doesn’t but supply, similar to specialised execution environments, privateness, sequencing traits similar to ultra-low latency, and non-financial use circumstances.
“I’ve develop into extra satisfied of the worth of native rollup precompilation,” Buterin stated. Particularly as soon as Ethereum contains ZK-EVM proof verification, “L1 must be prolonged anyway”. The thought is to confirm ZK-EVM proofs and protocol-level pre-compilation, which is processed as a part of Ethereum itself. Which means it’s going to “routinely improve with Ethereum,” and if there are bugs, “Ethereum will hardfork to repair the bugs.”
The ultimate level is subtext. He desires a path the place trustless verification and interoperability could be extra simply achieved and not using a “safety council” and the place rollups can lock EVM correctness straight into Ethereum whereas including customized performance. He additionally linked this route to synchronous composability, i.e. transactions that may safely scale L1 and L2 liquidity with tight coupling, and referred to ongoing analysis on find out how to mix pre-confirmation with base roll-up and real-time proof.
Buterin's conclusion leaves room for uncomfortable penalties. A permissionless ecosystem will create chains with components that “depend on belief, have backdoors, or are insecure,” he wrote, and this “can’t be averted.” The mission he frames is to make endorsements readable to customers whereas strengthening Ethereum's base layer. This implies that the subsequent section of L2 competitors might not be about who “scales Ethereum,” however fairly about who can credibly outline and show what they really ship.
At press time, ETH was buying and selling at $2,256.
Featured picture from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
enhancing course of for focuses on offering completely researched, correct, and unbiased content material. We adhere to strict sourcing requirements and every web page undergoes diligent overview by our group of prime know-how consultants and seasoned editors. This course of ensures the integrity, relevance, and worth of the content material for readers.
