Understanding Vitalik's Reflection on L2: Farewell to Fragmentation, Rectifying the Course Towards Native Rollup in the New Phase
Vitalik Buterin's recent reflections on Ethereum's scaling roadmap signal a significant shift: the original plan prioritizing L2s as the primary scaling solution is now considered outdated. Rather than abandoning L2s entirely, the new strategy refocuses on Ethereum L1 as the most secure settlement layer, while L2s are expected to pursue specialization and differentiation—offering unique features like privacy-focused virtual machines or AI-agent environments—instead of mere scalability.
A key issue is the fragmentation caused by numerous L2s, many of which remain centralized (e.g., stuck at "Stage 1" with limited decentralization). This undermines Ethereum’s core values and splits liquidity. The community is now moving toward "Native Rollup" concepts, particularly Based Rollup, which integrates rollup logic directly into L1, using Ethereum validators for sequencing instead of independent, often centralized, sequencers. This enhances security, reduces fragmentation, and enables synchronous composability.
To improve user experience, preconfirmations and fast L1 confirmation rules are proposed to reduce finality wait times from ~13 minutes to 15-30 seconds. Looking ahead, Ethereum’s evolution will emphasize account abstraction (simplifying user onboarding), privacy with ZK-EVM, and infrastructure for AI agents operating trustlessly on-chain.
Ultimately, Vitalik’s critique is not a rejection of L2s but a correction—away from fragmentation and toward deeper integration with L1, reinforcing Ethereum as the foundational trust layer for the decentralized ecosystem.
marsbit21 год тому