Brothers, the wind has changed in the Ethereum community recently.
In the past few years, the narrative we've been hearing is: “The Ethereum mainnet (L1) is too congested and too expensive, the future belongs to Layer 2 (L2)!”
Everyone is focused on L2, as if L2 is the only savior.
But recently, the plot has taken a turn. On one hand, the development of L2 seems to have hit a bottleneck, and the process of decentralization is much slower than expected; on the other hand, the mainnet that everyone criticized for being “slow and expensive” has quietly become stronger — Gas fees have decreased, and scaling plans are steadily advancing.
It's like you were originally annoyed by traffic on the main road and spent a lot of money to build an elevated bridge (L2). As a result, the bridge is not finished, and the main road (L1) suddenly widened, which is quite awkward.
Today, let's explain in plain language: why the original L2 narrative no longer works? In the context of the main net's strong return, how should L2 transform to survive?
1 Ideals are abundant, but reality is stark: The persona of L2 has collapsed.
The original dream: L2 = Ethereum's 'official store'.
According to the original script, the positioning of L2 is **'Ethereum scaling'**. What does it mean? It means that L2 should be like Ethereum's 'official direct store':
When you trade on L2, you should enjoy the same level of security as the main net.
Your money on L2 is absolutely safe as long as the Ethereum main net does not crash; no one can freeze it, and no one can roll it back.
This type of L2 is referred to as **'branded shards'**, which carry Ethereum's pure lineage.
The harsh reality: Most L2s are still franchise stores.
But years have passed, and we find that the situation is not quite right.
The progress bar is stuck: According to Vitalik Buterin's standards, L2 is divided into three stages (Stage 0, 1, 2). Stage 2 is the true form of 'decentralization', completely free from the control of the project team. But now? The vast majority of L2s are still at Stage 0 or 1, meaning the project team still holds the 'multi-signature private keys' (Admin Keys). In simple terms, whether your money is safe depends on the mood of those few people in the project team.
Some L2s even 'don't want to grow up': Some project teams bluntly say, 'We may never want to reach Stage 2.' Why? Because their clients (such as institutions and banks) need regulation and need someone to control the situation.
This leads to a logical paradox: If you are a chain controlled by a multi-signature wallet, then you are not really 'scaling Ethereum', you are just a side chain connected to Ethereum.
2 Why does the original script no longer work?
In addition to L2's own shortcomings, the external environment has also changed.
1. The main net (L1) has established itself. In the past, even though we knew L2 was not perfect, we had to use it with a pinch of salt because the main net was too expensive. But what about now?
Lower costs: The current Gas fees are already quite affordable.
A promising future: It is expected that by 2026, Ethereum's main net Gas Limit (block capacity) will be greatly increased.
2. Since the main net can withstand it, why do we need a 'clone'? If the main net can handle a large number of transactions, then we don't need those imperfect 'brand shards'.
Ethereum does not need those L2s that cannot provide main net-level security and have no unique features to pad the numbers.
3 New ways of life for L2: Don't be 'clones', be special forces.
Since the story of 'I can also do transactions, just a bit cheaper than the main net' is no longer viable, where is the way out for L2 now?
The answer is: differentiated competition.
If you are an L2 project team, what should you do now?
Three suggestions:
The first move: Find your 'unique skill' (Value Add).
Stop just focusing on the two words 'scaling'. You must provide things that the main net cannot offer:
Privacy protection: The main network is open and transparent, and you can create a chain that protects privacy through zero-knowledge proofs (ZK).
Extreme speed: The main net is still second-level fast, you can create a millisecond-level chain, specifically for high-frequency trading or full-chain games.
Non-financial applications: Specifically for decentralized social networking (SocialFi), identity verification (DID), or AI reasoning.
Special features: Built-in oracles, decentralized arbitration systems, etc.
In one sentence: Don't be Ethereum's 'shadow clone', do what Ethereum cannot do.
The second move: Safety is the bottom line (Stage 1 or Die).
If you are dealing with ETH, which is real money, the minimum standard must be Stage 1.
This means that even if the project team runs away, users can use technical means to return their money to the main net. If this cannot be done, it's better to call yourself a 'side chain' and not ride on the popularity of L2.
The third move: Fix the road (Interoperability).
Although you want to create uniqueness, you must be able to seamlessly connect with the Ethereum main net.
4 Ethereum's official big move: native Rollup precompile.
L2s are transforming, and the Ethereum main net is not idle either.
To support these 'special forces' L2s, Ethereum is brewing a big move: native Rollup precompile (Native Rollup Precompile).
What is this black technology?
In the past (plugin mode): To prove that L2 is not malicious, it needs to deploy a smart contract on Ethereum to verify ZK proofs (Zero-Knowledge proofs). It's like installing a third-party plugin in your browser, which is not only expensive but also, if the plugin has a bug, the browser won't fix it.
In the future (native mode): Ethereum directly writes the function of 'verifying ZK proofs' into the core code (Precompile). This becomes a built-in feature of the browser.
What are the benefits of this?
Safer: It is part of Ethereum. If there is a bug, Ethereum will fix it through a hard fork, so you don't have to worry about the project team's contract being hacked.
More standardized: If your L2 is a standard EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), the main net will help you verify it directly, saving you time and effort.
More flexible: If your L2 has 'EVM + special features (like Stylus)', the main net verifies the EVM part, and you verify the special part yourself.
Synchronous Composability: This term sounds dizzying, simply put, it means that different L2s, as well as between L2 and L1, can interact in real-time as if they are on the same chain, without long waiting times.
5 Summary: A future of diverse blooms.
The future Ethereum ecosystem will no longer be a situation where 'the main net is lofty and L2 is humbly working', but a free market.
Ethereum main net: Provides the most solid security foundation and general settlement capabilities.
Various L2s: Even if some are not that decentralized, and some may have backdoors, this is unavoidable. As long as developers explain clearly, users can choose for themselves.
What we want to build is a **'full-spectrum' ecosystem: chains that inherit Ethereum's security completely, and chains that sacrifice some security for performance**. Everyone (or every AI robot) can find the most suitable chain according to their needs.
In the second half of DeFi, it's no longer about 'who is more like Ethereum', but 'who can use Ethereum's foundation to play out the latest tricks'.
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