“The original vision of L2 and its role in Ethereum no longer makes sense.”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin pointed out that the role of Layer 2 (Layer 2 or L2) urgently needs to be redefined. With the decline in commissions on major networks, many low commission L2s have lost their meaning.

According to Buterin, the original vision for these networks was a simple extension of Ethereum. It will stop working in 2026 He wrote this in a post about X on February 3rd this year.

For developers, this shift in perspective has two important components. First, let’s look at the progress. L2 towards full decentralization is very slow. Many networks still rely on security advice and “multisig” to operate. Second, Ethereum mainnet (L1) is expanding at a higher rate than originally expected.

Ethereum needs to scale. The definition of “Ethereum scaling” is the existence of large amounts of block space backed by the complete trust and reliability of Ethereum. This means that if any action is performed within that blockspace (even with ETH), that activity is guaranteed to be valid, uncensored, unrolled, and unaltered as long as Ethereum continues to function.

Vitalik Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum.

Layer 1 fees are currently very low. Additionally, developers predict that gas restrictions will increase significantly in the coming months. With these advances, Ethereum Process more transactions directly and efficiently. Making the use of L1 even more attractive.

As reported by CriptoNoticias, Vitalik’s plan is to make Ethereum simpler, seeking to reduce its technical complexity. Buterin believes that L2 should no longer simply function as a “fragment” of the main network.

L2 must find their identity

Programmers encourage L2 developers to look for real added value. He suggests that these networks focus on functionality that L1 does not provide by design. Examples include specialized virtual machines for advanced privacy and artificial intelligence. Also Mentioning extremely high efficiency in non-financial applicationssocial networks and digital identity.

Buterin offers innovative technological solutions: Native rollup precompile. This tool integrates zero-knowledge (ZK) proof verification directly into the Ethereum (L1) protocol. In this way, L2 can gain interoperability without sacrificing security or requiring trust with Layer 1.

This paradigm shift does not mean the disappearance of Layer 2. Vitalik now sees Layer 2 as a versatile option for users. Each person can choose the level of connection with Ethereum depending on their specific needs. The rigid structure of previous plans is replaced with flexibility.

The ecosystem must be transparent to users about the security guarantees of each network. Developers are now free to experiment with new, more powerful designs. Buterin concludes: The ultimate goal is still to build the strongest Ethereum And as versatile as possible.