Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the role of the layer-2 network needs to be rethought as Ethereum’s main network continues to scale and transaction costs remain low.
In a post on X, Buterin said the original rollup-centric roadmap, which positioned layer-2s as the primary way Ethereum would scale, “no longer makes sense.” This roadmap envisioned layer-2s as secure extensions of Ethereum that would handle most transactions while inheriting Ethereum’s security guarantees, often described as “branded shards” of the network.
Layer 2s, such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, are offchain networks built on top of primary blockchains (Layer 1s) like Ethereum. The main purpose of these is to increase transaction speed and reduce transaction costs on the main network.
Think of the Ethereum mainnet as a packed main hall at a conference. Space is limited, so entry can be slow and expensive. Layer-2 networks act as overflow spaces, letting people participate and interact without intruding into the main hall, while still being connected to what’s happening there.
‘You don’t scale Ethereum’
According to Buterin, two developments have challenged the original vision for Layer 2 networks.
First, progress among Tier-2s toward later stages of decentralization has been slower and more difficult than expected. Second, Ethereum itself is now scaling directly at layer-1, where fees remain low and gas limits are expected to increase significantly in 2026.
Buterin wrote that scaling Ethereum should mean creating “vast amounts of block space backed by Ethereum’s full faith and credit,” where activity is “guaranteed to be valid, uncensored, uncreated, untouched, as long as Ethereum itself functions.”
He argued that high-throughput chains connected to Ethereum through multisig-controlled bridges do not meet this definition. “If you create a 10000 TPS EVM where its connection to L1 is mediated by a multisig bridge, then you are not scaling Ethereum,” he wrote.
In his view, Ethereum no longer needs layer-2s to act as “branded shards” for the network. This means that because Ethereum itself scales, layer-2 networks are no longer required to act as official extensions of Ethereum. He also noted that many layer-2s are “unable or unwilling” to meet the decentralization and security standards required by the model.
Buterin also noted that some Tier 2s may intentionally choose not to move beyond “Stage 1,” including for regulatory reasons.
In one example, he wrote that one project claimed it would never decentralize further because “the regulatory needs of their clients require them to have ultimate control.” While he said that approach may be appropriate for those users, he added that such systems should not be described as scaling Ethereum.
“This might be doing the right thing for your customers. But it should be obvious that if you do this, you are not ‘scaling Ethereum’ in the sense of the rollup-centric roadmap,” Buterin wrote.”
Buterin instead suggested viewing layer-2s as a spectrum of networks with different levels of connectivity to Ethereum, each offering different tradeoffs. He said layer-2s should focus on delivering value beyond basic scaling, such as privacy features, application-specific design, ultra-fast transaction verification or non-financial use cases, and be clear to users about what guarantees they provide.
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