Vitalik Buterin warns copy-paste Layer 2s and generic EVM chains are stalling Ethereum’s long-term scaling imaginative and prescient.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has stated that many new Layer 2 (L2) networks are repeating shallow design patterns, and warned that generic EVM chains with optimistic bridges are holding again significant progress.
His feedback lengthen the general public debate over whether or not right now’s L2 ecosystem nonetheless aligns with Ethereum’s unique scaling objectives.
No Extra “Copypasta” EVM Chains
In a February 5 put up on X, Buterin argued that consolation and familiarity, not technical necessity, are driving many L2 launches, resulting in copy-paste designs that add little past surface-level Ethereum compatibility.
The developer drew a comparability between infrastructure decisions and governance habits, writing that making yet one more EVM chain and including “an optimistic bridge to Ethereum with a one-week delay” has grow to be routine in the identical method forking Compound as soon as dominated DAO governance.
“That’s one thing we’ve achieved far an excessive amount of for a lot too lengthy, as a result of we received snug, and which has sapped our creativeness and put us in a useless finish,” Buterin wrote.
He was much more direct about different designs that drop Ethereum bridges solely.
“If you happen to make an EVM chain with out an optimistic bridge to Ethereum, that’s even worse,” he stated, including, “We don’t friggin want extra copypasta EVM chains, and we positively don’t want much more L1s.”
Buterin insisted that Ethereum’s base layer is already scaling and can proceed so as to add EVM block house by means of 2026, although not with out limits. He famous that some workloads, corresponding to AI-related functions, should still require decrease latency or specialised execution environments. In his view, these wants ought to push builders towards genuinely new architectures reasonably than frivolously modified replicas.
Matching “Vibes” With Actual Ethereum Connection
Buterin’s criticism builds on feedback he made earlier, suggesting many L2s not meet the unique definition of scaling Ethereum as a result of they fail to totally inherit its safety.
You might also like:
He argued that Ethereum not wants L2s to behave as branded shards, particularly contemplating mainnet charges are falling and fuel limits are rising.
In his newest put up, the 32-year-old careworn that public positioning ought to replicate technical actuality. “Vibes have to match substance,” he wrote, criticizing tasks that market themselves as tightly related to Ethereum whereas treating that hyperlink as an afterthought.
The blockchain’s co-founder outlined two fashions he considers affordable. One is an app chain that relies upon deeply on Ethereum, corresponding to prediction markets that settle and handle accounts on the L1 whereas dealing with execution on a rollup. The opposite is what he referred to as “institutional L2s,” the place techniques like authorities registries publish cryptographic proofs on-chain for transparency, even when they aren’t trustless or credibly impartial.
“If you happen to’re the very first thing, it’s legitimate and nice to name your self an Ethereum utility,” Buterin stated. “If you happen to’re the second factor, then you definitely’re not Ethereum… so it is best to simply say these issues immediately.”
SECRET PARTNERSHIP BONUS for CryptoPotato readers: Use this hyperlink to register and unlock $1,500 in unique BingX Alternate rewards (restricted time supply).
