Ethereum’s Buterin vows to only support highly decentralized Layer 2 projects

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has announced changes to the way Layer 2 (L2) projects are discussed starting next year.

In a Sept. 12 post on X, Buterin said he would only publicly recognize L2 if it reached stage 1 or above in its decentralization efforts, regardless of his investment.

He said:

“I'm taking this seriously. Starting next year, I'll only publicly mention L2s that are stage 1 or above (on my blog, in talks, etc.), and give a “maybe short grace period” for really interesting new projects. It doesn't matter if I've invested in it or if you're my friend. It's stage 1 or fail.”

Buterin outlined the criteria for Stage 1+ rollup: he said the network needs 75% consensus of the council to override the proof-of-concept system, and at least 26% of council members must be independent of the rollup.

Buterin noted that his demands are reasonable and necessary for the security of the network, stating:

“Stage 1 (75% council threshold to override the proof system, with at least 26% of the council having to be outside the rollup team) is a very reasonable moderate milestone. No multisig I'm in has had a single liveness failure in years, let alone 26%.”

The Ethereum co-founder concluded that “the days of glorifying multisig rollups are coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust has arrived.”

Criticism of Layer 2 Networks

Buterin’s current stance comes as Ethereum’s Layer-2 network has recently come under criticism for its centralized structure.

Last month, CyberCapital’s Justin Bonds expressed concerns, arguing that these networks are risky due to their centralization and could potentially steal users’ funds.

Buterin countered that a highly decentralized L2 solution would not be able to accept user funds without reaching a strong consensus.

Meanwhile, these discussions are taking place amid the rapid growth of Ethereum Layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and zkSync. Already, over 80% of Ethereum transactions are carried out on L2 solutions, and high adoption rates are showing increasing signs of further accelerated development.

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