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'You are not scaling Ethereum': Vitalik Buterin issues a blunt reality check to the biggest crypto networks
Vitalik Buterin urges Ethereum Layer-2 networks to shift from competing on throughput to specializing in features like privacy and speed amid base layer scaling improvements.
- Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, called time on Ethereum's long-standing layer-2 vision and said the scaling strategy needs a reset in a post on X on February 4, 2026.
- As Ethereum's base layer improves with rising gas limits and lower fees, developers are preparing native rollups and zkEVM integrations, challenging the original roadmap that positioned layer‑2 networks as branded shards.
- Buterin criticized layer‑2 designs that rely on centralized sequencers or multisig-controlled bridges, noting many projects trust intermediaries rather than Ethereum itself and progress toward decentralization has slowed.
- Buterin urged layer‑2 networks to pivot from raw throughput to specialization, saying projects must clearly state the guarantees they provide and prioritize Ethereum first, rollups second.
- Think of Ethereum's main network as a packed main hall with layer‑2 overflow rooms, as layer‑2s like Arbitrum, Optimism and Base increase speed and reduce costs with different trade‑offs.
41 Articles
41 Articles
'You are not scaling Ethereum': Vitalik Buterin issues a blunt reality check to the biggest crypto networks
The roadmap in place doesn't make as much sense because progress among layer-2s toward later stages of decentralization has been slower and more difficult, and Ethereum itself is now scaling directly on layer-1.
Why Vitalik Buterin Says L2s Aren't Scaling Ethereum Anymore
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said recent developments mean the original conception of Layer 2 scaling within the ETH ecosystem is no longer viable. He said that the progress among many L2 networks has fallen short of earlier expectations, while the mainnet continues to scale directly. Slow Progress, Low Fees In a recent post on X, Buterin pointed to two important realities reshaping the debate. First, there is the slow and difficult progr…
Ethereum’s L2 Scaling Story Gets a Rewrite From Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin is openly challenging long-held assumptions about Ethereum’s layer-two ( L2) strategy, arguing that the original vision for L2s no longer fits a network where the base layer itself is scaling rapidly. Vitalik Buterin Calls for Specialized Appchains Over Generic L2s In a recent X post, Vitalik Buterin argued that two developments have quietly […]
The scalability of L1 and the slowness of L2 require these networks to find their own identity. Read more
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