Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has mentioned 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 immediately’s L2 ecosystem nonetheless aligns with Ethereum’s authentic scaling targets.
No Extra “Copypasta” EVM Chains
In a February 5 submit 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 selections and governance habits, writing that making yet one more EVM chain and including “an optimistic bridge to Ethereum with a one-week delay” has turn into routine in the identical method forking Compound as soon as dominated DAO governance.
“That’s one thing we’ve finished far an excessive amount of for a lot too lengthy, as a result of we acquired comfy, and which has sapped our creativeness and put us in a lifeless finish,” Buterin wrote.
He was much more direct about various designs that drop Ethereum bridges completely.
“Should you make an EVM chain with out an optimistic bridge to Ethereum, that’s even worse,” he mentioned, including, “We don’t friggin want extra copypasta EVM chains, and we undoubtedly 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 area by means of 2026, although not with out limits. He famous that some workloads, corresponding to AI-related purposes, should require decrease latency or specialised execution environments. In his view, these wants ought to push builders towards genuinely new architectures reasonably than flippantly 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 completely inherit its safety.
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 submit, the 32-year-old harassed that public positioning ought to replicate technical actuality. “Vibes must match substance,” he wrote, criticizing initiatives 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 known as “institutional L2s,” the place methods like authorities registries publish cryptographic proofs on-chain for transparency, even when they aren’t trustless or credibly impartial.
“Should you’re the very first thing, it’s legitimate and nice to name your self an Ethereum utility,” Buterin mentioned. “Should you’re the second factor, then you definitely’re not Ethereum… so you must simply say these issues immediately.”
The submit Vitalik Buterin: Copy-Paste L2s Are Hurting Ethereum’s Progress appeared first on CryptoPotato.