Representatives of L2 projects responded to Vitalik Buterin's statement about the need for a paradigm shift in the ecosystem's development. The Ethereum co-founder previously described the concept of second-layer solutions as outdated.

Buterin noted that the transition to full decentralization for rollups (Stage 2) has proven to be more complex and slower than anticipated. He believes that Ethereum itself is becoming more efficient, which necessitates that layer-2 solutions seek new niches.

While L2 developers agreed on the need for evolution, they disagreed on the role of scaling.

Stephen Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, the developer of Arbitrum, took a firm stance. He insisted on maintaining scaling as a core value of L2.

My thoughts on Vitalik's post:
🧵

— Steven Goldfeder (@sgoldfed) February 3, 2026

“Arbitrum was not created as a 'service for Ethereum,' but because Ethereum provides high security for transactions,” he emphasized.

Goldfeder rejected the notion that an upgraded mainnet would replace the throughput of layer-2 networks. He cited periods of high activity when Arbitrum and Base processed over 1,000 transactions per second while L1 metrics remained low. He warned that if Ethereum becomes “hostile” to rollups, institutional players might launch their own L1 networks.

Karl Floersch from the Optimism Foundation supported the push for decentralization but acknowledged technical barriers.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Not a challenge related to drama farmers saying "L2s bad, Ethereum dumb."

But instead the challenge of creating a modular L2 Stack that supports and enables customization and the full spectrum of decentralization. And you know — we're already closer to that… https://t.co/s6mDG9KOk8

— karl.floersch.eth (✨🔴_🔴✨) (@karl_dot_tech) February 3, 2026

He highlighted issues such as slow withdrawal times, the lack of ready proofs for Stage 2, and a shortage of tools for cross-chain applications. Floersch endorsed the idea of native precompilations in Ethereum to simplify rollup verification.

Base's head, Jesse Pollak, agreed that L2s should not merely be “cheap Ethereum.”

it’s great to see ethereum scaling L1 — this is a win for the entire ecosystem.

going forward, L2s can’t just be “ethereum but cheaper.” that's why from the beginning of base we've shown up everyday to onboard new users, developers, and apps, push the technology forward, and do… https://t.co/1Sh2fwJHrY

— jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) February 3, 2026

According to him, Base focuses on attracting developers and unique features like account abstraction and privacy.

CEO of StarkWare, Eli Ben-Sasson, responded succinctly, hinting that ZK rollups already align with Buterin's new vision.

I think he just did it again:
Say Starknet without saying Starknet. https://t.co/8cnmucEZhA

— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) February 3, 2026

“Say Starknet without saying Starknet,” he wrote on X.

Recall that on February 1, Buterin introduced a new model for motivating content creators, based on a combination of DAOs and prediction market mechanics.