Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that as the Ethereum main network continues to expand and transaction costs remain low, the role of layer 2 networks needs to be reconsidered.
Buterin said in a post on The roadmap envisions Layer 2 as a secure extension of Ethereum that will handle the majority of transactions while inheriting Ethereum’s security guarantees, often described as a “branded sharding” of the network.
Layer 2 (such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base) are off-chain networks built on top of main blockchains (layer 1) such as Ethereum. Its main purpose is to increase transaction speed and reduce transaction costs on the mainnet.
Think of Ethereum’s main network as a crowded main hall at a conference. Space is limited, so entry can be slow and expensive. The Layer 2 network acts like an overflow room, allowing people to participate and interact without crowding the main lobby while still staying connected to what’s going on there.
“You are not scaling Ethereum”
Buterin said two developments challenged the original vision of Layer 2 networks.
First, progress from Layer 2 to later stages of decentralization has been slower and more difficult than expected. Second, Ethereum itself now scales directly on Layer-1, fees remain low, and gas limits are expected to increase significantly in 2026.
Buterin wrote that scaling Ethereum should mean creating “a massive blockspace backed by the full trust and credit of Ethereum,” where activity is “guaranteed to be valid, uncensored, non-revertible, and unimpaired for as long as Ethereum itself functions.”
He believes that a high-throughput chain connected to Ethereum via a multi-signature controlled bridge does not meet this definition. “If you create a 10,000 TPS EVM whose connection to L1 is mediated through a multi-signature bridge, you cannot scale Ethereum,” he wrote.
In his view, Ethereum no longer needs Layer 2 to act as a “branded shard” of the network. This means that since Ethereum itself is scaling, the layer 2 network no longer needs to act as an official extension 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 Layer-2s may intentionally choose not to move beyond “Phase 1,” including for regulatory reasons.
In one example, he wrote that a project believed it might never decentralize further because “custodian regulatory needs require that they have ultimate control.” While he said this approach may be suitable for these users, he added that such systems should not be described as scalable Ethereum.
“This may be the right thing for your customers. But it’s clear that if you do this, then you are not ‘scaling Ethereum’ as the rollup-centric roadmap refers to it,” Buterin wrote.
Instead, Buterin suggested thinking of Layer 2 as a series of networks with varying levels of connectivity to Ethereum, each offering different trade-offs. He said Layer-2 should focus on providing value beyond basic extensions, such as privacy features, application-specific design, ultra-fast transaction confirmations or non-financial use cases, and make the guarantees they provide clear to users.
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