Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, said he is rethinking the network’s relationship with layer-2 chains, arguing they are growing too slowly while Ethereum’s base layer scales. This shift was raised recently and reflects concerns over L2 adoption and Ethereum’s planned capacity increases, as stated by Buterin.
“Ethereum itself is now scaling directly on layer 1, with large planned increases to its gas limit this year and the years ahead,” he wrote. The $275 billion network has seen rising on-chain activity that pushes up transaction costs and gas fees.
Layer-2 projects such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Starknet, Metis, and Base were built to ease that pressure, but adoption has lagged. Several L2s use centralized sequencers controlled by developer teams, limiting decentralization.
“This vision no longer makes sense,” Buterin added, urging L2s to offer distinct features while Ethereum remains the core settlement layer. Market conditions are tightening that debate.
Ethereum’s native token, ETH, fell from a yearly high near $3,200 to about $2,250 this month, and sits roughly 55% below its all-time high of $4,946 reached in August 2025 (Ed. note: this decline intensified scrutiny on scaling strategies).
