Vitalik questioned the L2 scaling path, while Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base collectively responded with a "de-homogenization" approach.
TL;DR
Vitalik Buterin questioned L2's role as Ethereum's primary scaling solution, advocating for specialization. Major L2 teams like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base responded by emphasizing de-homogenization, with debates on whether scaling remains their core mission.
Tags
On February 4th, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the initial idea of using L2 as Ethereum's primary scaling engine is "no longer reasonable," and called for Layer 2 networks to evolve towards greater specialization. This statement quickly drew responses from mainstream L2 teams such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base.
Vitalik pointed out that many current L2 implementations still rely on multisignature bridges and have not fully inherited Ethereum's security. Meanwhile, with the increase in gas limits and the advancement of native rollups and other solutions, the throughput capacity of the Ethereum mainnet itself is improving. Against this backdrop, the role of L2 needs to be reconsidered.
Karl Floersch, co-founder of the Optimism Foundation, expressed support for building a modular L2 that covers the "full spectrum of decentralization," but also admitted that there are still real challenges such as excessively long withdrawal cycles, the immaturity of Stage 2 proof mechanisms, and a lack of cross-chain tools.
Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, the developer of Arbitrum, emphasized that scaling remains the core value of L2. He believes that even if the Ethereum mainnet's capabilities improve, it will be difficult to replace the role of L2 in handling thousands of TPS during peak periods, and warned that if Ethereum is not rollup-friendly, institutions may turn to independent Layer 1.
Base's lead Jesse Pollak stated that Ethereum's L1 scaling is "beneficial for the entire ecosystem," while agreeing that L2 cannot simply be "cheaper Ethereum." He pointed out that Base is developing its own unique characteristics through application-layer differentiation, account abstraction, and privacy features.
Furthermore, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson also hinted on social media that native L2 systems like Starknet have, to some extent, aligned with Vitalik's proposed direction of specialization. Overall, L2 developers generally accept the trend of "de-homogenization and repositioning," but disagreements persist on whether "scaling remains the core mission."