No More Meaningless Clone Coins? Ethereum Founder Questions the True Qualification of Layer 2

▲ Vitalik Buterin/Source: X ©

A sharp criticism from the founder, stating that numerous scalability solutions that have driven the expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem are in fact nothing more than centralized replicas, has delivered a strong warning to the industry against the proliferation of networks with unclear purposes and functions.

According to cryptocurrency media outlet CCN on April 21 (local time), Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin attended the Hong Kong Web3 Festival on the 20th and raised sharp criticism regarding the current direction of Layer 2 (L2) development. He pointed out that building networks by simply copying the Ethereum mainnet, only increasing throughput and undermining decentralization, is meaningless. He emphasized that designing around the specific demands of applications is a much more powerful direction for development than launching general-purpose replicas.

The criteria he presents for valuable Layer 2 (L2) solutions are even more rigorous and clear. Buterin explained that a true scalability solution should fundamentally consider, starting from the application itself, which functions should be processed off-chain, and what elements are needed beyond the basic infrastructure. He cited examples like Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and privacy-focused applications, asserting the need for specialized designs where core security is anchored to the mainnet, but only specific functions are handled externally.

Along with these observations, the next-generation technical priorities for the Ethereum network were also presented. Buterin emphasized the importance of data scalability through PeerDAS, which enables more data to be posted on-chain. Furthermore, computational scalability, capable of handling complex tasks while maintaining verifiability and composability, was also cited as a key challenge for the future. Other major topics mentioned included increasing gas limits, advancements in Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM), and achieving long-term quantum resistance.

This speech is a clear message to emerging network developers who, riding on market trends, are proliferating under the guise of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility or generality. It means that beyond merely creating centralized clone networks, they must prove their own value by demonstrating what specific problems their networks solve and why off-chain components are truly necessary.

Buterin's philosophical standards have already been driving substantial changes in decision-making within the ecosystem since early this year. Last February, when he voiced opposition to so-called "copy-paste" chains that merely duplicate general-purpose networks, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) development team completely scrapped its original plan to launch its own Namechain Layer 2 (L2) and instead shifted its direction to deploy the next version solely on the Ethereum mainnet.

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