Key Takeaways
Why is Ethereum security better for L2s?
Per Buterin, even a 51% attack won’t touch users’ assets.
Why is Solana’s founder pushing for a new bridge to Ethereum?
It hinted at a potential challenge to Ethereum’s L2 design and market share.
Ethereum[ETH]-based crypto assets may still be safe even if more than half of the operations are overtaken by a hostile entity.
According to Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin, the blockchain’s key security core wouldn’t allow the so-called “51% attack” to make an “invalid block valid.”
Hence, users’ funds will be safe unless validators act outside Ethereum’s control after the attack (trust the hacker’s validator sets).
“A key property of a blockchain is that even a 51% attack *cannot make an invalid block valid*. This means even 51% of validators colluding (or hit by a software bug) cannot steal your assets.”
Source: X
According to Buterin, the L2 design could still ensure the safety of funds because they depend on the underlying Ethereum Layer 1 for security.
Solana co-founder’s proposal for L2s
Top L2s like Aribtrum [ARB], Base, Optimism [OP], and Worldchain [WLD], hold over $35 billion in locked value.
Source: GrowthThePie
But Buterin’s comment followed Solana’s [SOL] Co-Founder, Anatoly Yakovenko’s call for a special bridge that connects Ethereum as “L2.”
However, both are technically L1s with a separate security layer for their respective ecosystems. Hence, the 51% attack scenario could be more challenging if Solana doesn’t settle on Ethereum as other L2s do.
For Yakovenko, such an attack would just delay the chain but not affect the bridged assets. According to him, such a bridge design was doable.
Source: X
Ethereum’s countermeasure vision
However, one user countered that Ethereum’s L2s don’t care about issues raised by Yakovenko. Instead, players will care about ‘better apps and user experience, ‘ and lower costs that Ethereum will offer in the long run.
Last year, Buterin proposed to automate the response to a 51% attack.
“We want to make the response to 51% attacks as automated as possible. If you are a validator, your node should operate with software that, upon detecting censorship of transactions or validators, or if the node itself is censored, will automatically counteract the censorship of the main chain.”
That said, the discussion hinted that Yakovenko may be open to allowing current Ethereum L2s to bridge to Solana directly without worrying about Ethereum security issues or guarantees.
He added,
“If there is demand for it over Wormhole, then it will happen.”
Whether this will challenge Ethereum’s dominance remains to be seen. Meanwhile, after outperforming ETH in August by +30%, SOL has lagged behind the altcoin by 10% since late September.
Source: SOL/ETH ratio, TradingView
