Why Vitalik Buterin Says L2s Are Not Growing Ethereum

Buterin asserted that many Layer 2s no longer meaningfully play a role in Ethereum’s security.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said that recent developments mean that the original idea of ​​Layer 2 scaling within the ETH ecosystem is no longer viable.

He said progress among many L2 networks has slowed from earlier expectations, while the mainnet continues to scale directly.

Slow Development, Low Cost

In a recent post on X, Buterin identified two key facts that reframe the debate. First, there is the slow and difficult progress of L2s towards “stage 2” distribution and cooperation, and the fact that the Ethereum mainnet has already achieved very low fees, with gas limits expected to increase significantly in 2026.

Buterin reiterated that Ethereum scaling was originally defined as expanding the block space that fully leverages Ethereum’s security. This means that all activity remains valid and resistant to censorship as long as the network is active. Therefore, systems that rely on multisig bridges or other forms of voluntary control cannot be considered extensions of Ethereum in this sense, even if they offer high throughput.

The co-founder explained that this framework no longer holds because the blockchain no longer requires L2s to act as “brand shards,” while many L2s are unable or unwilling to meet the security and governance requirements that such a role would imply.

Buterin noted that some projects have clearly stated that they will not go beyond phase 1, not only because of technical concerns about the security of the uninformed EVM, but also because regulatory or customer requirements require complete control. Although he said that this may be similar to those use cases of projects, it means that they should not be described as equalizing Ethereum under the first definition.

Instead, Buterin suggested abandoning the idea that all Layer 2 should stay in the same category and be judged by the same criteria. He suggested that they should be viewed as a broad spectrum of programs with different levels of interaction with Ethereum. In this framework, some L2s may be fully supported by Ethereum security while others operate with limited guarantees. This will allow users and applications to choose according to their needs.

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He added that L2s should focus on providing differentiated value beyond standard scaling, such as specialized virtual machines, application-specific efficiencies, extreme performance, non-financial use cases, low-latency sequencing, or integrated services such as oracles or conflict resolution. For networks that manage assets issued by ETH or Ethereum, he said that access to at least stage 1 should be a minimum.

ZK-EVM Precompile

From Ethereum’s point of view, Buterin said he is becoming more convinced of the importance of native integration that will ensure ZK-EVM proof as part of Ethereum itself. Such an existing system enables trustless interoperability and compatibility while allowing L2s flexibility in extending functionality.

He said that while a permissionless ecosystem will inevitably include systems that have weak guarantees or rely on trust, Ethereum’s responsibility is to make those guarantees clear and continue to strengthen the legal base.