The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, stated that the original concept of Layer 2 (L2) solutions has become outdated. He proposed a new development model for the ecosystem, shifting the focus from mere scaling to the unique features of projects.

There have recently been some discussions on the ongoing role of L2s in the Ethereum ecosystem, especially in the face of two facts:

* L2s' progress to stage 2 (and, secondarily, on interop) has been far slower and more difficult than originally expected
* L1 itself is scaling,…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 3, 2026

According to Buterin, the perception of L2 as "branded shards" is outdated for two reasons. First, the transition of rollups to full decentralization (Stage 2) has proven to be more complex and slower than anticipated. Second, the main network (L1) is scaling on its own: fees are decreasing, and gas limits are significantly increasing.

A Spectrum Instead of a Standard

Buterin acknowledged that not all projects can or want to meet Ethereum's strict security criteria. Some are hindered by technical limitations of zkEVM, while others face regulatory requirements that necessitate maintaining control over the network.

Instead of a single standard, he suggested viewing L2 as a spectrum of possibilities. This would include networks fully secured by Ethereum as well as projects with varying degrees of connection to the mainnet. Users will have the choice of the necessary guarantees.

A Direction for Developers

The Ethereum founder advised L2 projects not to duplicate L1 functions but to seek unique value. Among promising directions, he highlighted:

  • privacy;
  • optimization for specific applications;
  • design for non-financial sectors (social networks, identity, AI);
  • ultra-high transaction speeds.

For those using ETH and other ecosystem assets, Buterin recommended achieving at least the first stage of decentralization (Stage 1) and ensuring maximum compatibility with Ethereum.

Native Precompile and Synchronization

The technical foundation of the new system should be a "native precompile for rollups". This is a built-in function that verifies ZK proofs at the L1 protocol level.

The implementation of this tool will provide two key advantages:

  1. Security. The precompile is updated alongside Ethereum. If a vulnerability is discovered, developers will fix it through a hard fork of the main network.
  2. Synchronous composability. Different L2s will be able to interact with each other and with L1 in real-time, eliminating delays and the need for unreliable bridges.

Buterin emphasized that in an open ecosystem, the emergence of centralized or less secure projects is inevitable. The community's task is to clearly explain to users what guarantees a given platform provides.

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