ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has announced a change in the way he will discuss Layer 2 (L2) projects starting next year.
In a Sept. 12 x post, Buterin said he would only publicly recognize L2s that have reached Stage 1 or higher in their decentralization efforts, regardless of their investment.
He x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1834061075970683367″>fixed:
“I take this very seriously. Starting next year, I plan to publicly mention (in blogs, talks, etc.) only L2 projects that are at stage 1+, with ‘maybe a short grace period’ for new projects that are really interesting. It doesn’t matter if I invested or if you are my friend; stage 1 or nothing.”
Buterin outlined the criteria for Stage 1+ rollups. According to him, a network would require a 75% consensus of the council to override the test system, and for at least 26% of council members to be independent of the rollup.
Buterin said his requests were reasonable and necessary for network security. He said:
“Stage 1 (75% board threshold to override testing, 26%+ board must be outside the implementation team) is a very reasonable moderate milestone. The multi-sigs I’m at haven’t had a single activity failure in years, let alone 26%.”
The ethereum co-founder concluded that “the era of rollups, which were glorified as multisigs, is coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust is already here.”
Critique of Layer 2 Networks
Buterin’s current stance comes at a time when ethereum’s layer-2 networks have recently come under fire for their centralized structures.
Last month, Cyber Capital's Justin Bons raised his concerns: x.com/Justin_Bons/status/1829908379524882828″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>arguing that these networks pose risks due to their centralization, potentially allowing them to steal funds from users.
However, Buterin responded that highly decentralized L2 solutions cannot take users' funds without reaching a strong consensus.
Meanwhile, these debates are occurring as ethereum’s layer-2 networks, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and zkSync, have seen rapid growth. Already, over 80% of ethereum transactions are conducted on layer-2 solutions, and there are growing signs that their developments will only accelerate further due to their high level of adoption.
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