Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has announced a change in its support strategy for Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions.
Starting in 2025, it will only openly support L2 projects that have reached at least Stage 1 in their development, with the possibility of a short grace period for new and truly interesting projects.
Buterin Shifts Focus to Layer 2 Projects
"I take this seriously," he wrote in the X post. "Starting next year, I plan to only mention L2s that are at stage 1+, possibly with a short grace period for really interesting new projects." He also stressed that personal relationships or financial investments would not influence his decision to back a project.
The paper also details the governance requirements for Phase 1, explaining that it requires 75% consensus from the board for major decisions, such as ditching the proof-of-concept system. At least 26% of board members must also be independent of the core development team, a measure designed to increase decentralization and reduce the likelihood of governance failure.
He added that "the era of rollups glorified as multisig is coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust is upon us."
In October 2020, Vitalik outlined a rollup-centric roadmap for Ethereum, emphasizing that scalability would come from Layer 2 solutions and not upgrades to the base Layer 1 (L1) layer.
This strategic direction is based on the belief that L2 rollups can offer Ethereum much greater scalability and efficiency than relying solely on upgrades to L1 blockchains.
Debat L2 vs. L1
These comments come amid an ongoing debate in the industry about whether L2 solutions compete with L1 networks like Ethereum. Max Resnick, an engineer at the Special Mechanisms Group, believes that L2s are competing for users.
However, Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, disagrees, and suggests that L2 and L1 should work together to improve scalability. "If Ethereum reaches its potential, we will have a lot of demand to fully cater to L1 and some L2/L3," he said.
Meanwhile, on September 9, Spot On Chain reported that a multi-signature wallet that accepted Buterin’s Ethereum had sold 760 ETH, worth $1.835 million. This sale follows a previous transfer totaling 3,800 ETH in August.
Responding to speculation about the sale, Viatlik has clarified that it was related to a biodefense group he funded, which was triggered by an automated Cowswap TWAP command set in late August. He added, “That was the last straw.”
He also recently revealed that he has not sold any ETH for personal gain since 2018, emphasizing that his ETH sales are usually donated to charitable causes, non-profits, or other projects.
Vitalik Buterin Names the Only Layer-2 Network He Will Support by 2025 first appeared on CryptoPotato.
