Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, proposed a new framework for Layer 2 (L2) rollup security.
In a recent proposal, Butaline outlined a roadmap built around a hybrid proof architecture combining zero knowledge proof, optimistic rollups and reliable execution environments (TEEs) to avoid overreliance on a single system.
This proposal arrives as Ethereum’s L2 landscape matures. Several rollups have reached stage 1 of the Ethereum scaling roadmap, and future upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka are expected to significantly increase the availability of data blobs for rollup use.
Buterin said the focus is on pushing these rollups to stage 2. In the short term, he believes that the most robust approach is the 3-prover system, and that two of the three mechanisms need to verify the roll-up state route to achieve finality.
In this model, if both ZK Prover and Tee Prover approve a state route, the results are confirmed immediately. If there is only one approval, the system returns to an optimistic model that requires a seven-day challenge period.
The optimistic layer acts as the ultimate arbiter, preventing the semi-reliable system from negating decisions if the more unreliable system disagrees.
Unreliable finality
Buterin emphasized that this architecture is carefully designed to meet the specific security and decentralization goals outlined for stage 2 rollups.
It provides quick finality in normal operation, ensures that the trust maximum certification system cannot be overridden by semi-trust components, and reduces the reliance on current generations of ZK systems that remain vulnerable to bugs and shared code exploits.
He also introduced a mechanism by the Security Council, which serves as a safety measure. This council can immediately upgrade Telogic in the event of a failure and delay changes to ZK or optimistic systems.
In rare scenarios such as prover producing conflicting results, councils have the authority to intervene immediately and maintain system integrity.
According to Buterin, this combination (one ZK Prover, one optimistic prover, one tee) represents the only viable way to achieve Ethereum’s stage two goals without sacrificing speed or security.
The ZK and OP systems are based on fundamentally different mathematical assumptions, making them very unlikely to have shared vulnerabilities. So when combined with tees, it disrupts practical balance.
Scaling with chunks and aggregated proofs
Buterin also addressed the evolving data layer of Ethereum, beyond proof architecture. He pointed to an expected Pectra upgrade within weeks, increasing the blobspace to six units per block.
Fusaka, a subsequent upgrade, can increase that number to up to 72, dramatically increasing the available data bandwidth for the rollup. More blob space reduces congestion and makes L2 transactions cheaper and scalable.
The roadmap also brought attention to missing parts of Ethereum’s infrastructure. It is a standardized proof aggregation layer for the entire ecosystem. Buterin argued that applications across the Ethereum stack do not need to submit individual zero-knowledge proofs, from rollups and privacy protocols to wallet recovery tools.
Instead, a shared aggregation mechanism allows all such applications to combine their output into a single, unified proof. This dramatically reduces gas costs by spreading about 500,000 gas personnel submissions to all participants.
Buterin pointed out that the Ethereum community is already on track to generate ZK-EVMs that can generate proofs within a single slot, even under the worst conditions.
As these systems mature and eliminate critical bugs, tees could eventually be phased out completely. In that scenario, the Ethereum Rollup relies on zero on immediate finality and semi-reliability components to achieve full reliability.
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