The Protocol: Vitalik Buterin’s stark warning on layer-2 roadmap

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VITALIK BUTERIN SAYS LAYER-2 ROADMAP ‘NO LONGER MAKES SENSE’: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the role of layer-2 networks needs to be reconsidered as the blockchain’s main network continues to scale and transaction costs remain low. In a post on X, Buterin said the original rollup-centric roadmap, which positioned layer-2s as the primary way Ethereum would scale, “no longer makes sense.” That roadmap envisioned layer-2s as secure extensions of Ethereum that would handle most transactions while inheriting Ethereum’s security guarantees, often described as “branded shards” of the network. According to Buterin, two developments have challenged that original vision for layer-2 networks. First, progress among layer 2s toward later stages of decentralization has been slower and more difficult than expected. Second, Ethereum is now