Ethereum’s Layer-2 Vision “No Longer Makes Sense”

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Vitalik Buterin Declares: Ethereum’s Layer-2 Vision “No Longer Makes Sense”

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: February 04, 2026

Key Takeaways

Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum’s old Layer-2 scaling model “no longer makes sense” and supports scaling through native rollups instead;
He believes many L2s failed to stay decentralized or inherit Ethereum’s security, while the mainnet now scales more efficiently;
Buterin suggests L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism shift focus toward niches such as privacy, identity, finance, social apps, or AI.

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Vitalik Buterin Declares: Ethereum’s Layer-2 Vision “No Longer Makes Sense”

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Ethereum ETH $2,196.11 co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared his view on how the network should grow.

He said that the early idea of using Layer-2 solutions for scaling “no longer makes sense".

According to him, many of these projects have not properly used Ethereum’s security, and the focus should shift toward scaling directly on the main chain and through native rollups.

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In a post on X, Buterin wrote, “We need a new path". He explained that several Layer-2 projects have struggled to remain decentralized, while the Ethereum mainnet itself has become much better at handling higher activity.

He expects even more improvement as gas limits rise and native rollup features are introduced.

Originally, Layer-2 networks were designed to extend Ethereum. They were supposed to process most transactions faster and cheaper while still benefiting from Ethereum’s security layer.

However, Buterin said that many of them failed to achieve that. He said:

If you create a 10000 TPS EVM where its connection to L1 is mediated by a multisig bridge, then you are not scaling Ethereum.

Instead of focusing only on processing power, Buterin encouraged these projects to find their own areas of value.

He suggested that platforms such as Arbitrum ARB $0.1333 , Optimism OP $0.2209 , Base, and Starknet could specialize in fields like privacy, identity, finance, social applications, or artificial intelligence (AI).

Buterin recently proposed a new approach to creator tokens that links decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) with prediction markets. What did he say? Read the full story.