Key Insights:
- Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum’s L1 scaling weakens the original idea of L2s as branded shards, and it’s trending in crypto news.
- Arbitrum and Optimism argue that L2s still deliver critical scale, customization, and institutional demand.
- Base says differentiation, not cheaper transactions, now defines the long-term role of Ethereum L2s.
Crypto news discussions heated up this week after Vitalik Buterin outlined a shift in how Ethereum should view layer-2 networks. His comments prompted responses from leading L2 teams, including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. Each one is defending its role in Ethereum’s scaling roadmap.
The controversy is whether L2s continue to serve their original role of scaling Ethereum or have expanded their mission. Buterin explained that the base layer of Ethereum is already scaling directly, and that it is likely to have low fees and even large gas limits in 2026. So, he claimed that the original rollup-centric vision must be modified.
Vitalik Buterin also states that L2s are no longer considered the shards of Ethereum. Rather, he defined a continuum of chains that are more or less connected to Ethereum. Others might provide complete security on Ethereum, while some are focused on customization, regulatory control, or special use cases.
Crypto News: Vitalik Buterin Questions the Original L2 Model
In his post, Vitalik Buterin said progress toward fully decentralized stage-2 rollups has been slower than expected. He also pointed to unresolved interoperability challenges. According to crypto news, these factors, combined with Ethereum’s own scaling, cast doubt on the idea that L2s exist mainly to extend L1 capacity.
Buterin stressed that a high-throughput chain secured only by a multisig bridge does not scale Ethereum. He added that some L2s have signaled they may never move beyond stage 1. In his view, such designs prioritize customer or regulatory requirements over Ethereum’s trust guarantees.
Moreover, Buterin admitted that this method can be right. He claimed that Ethereum no longer relies on L2s for basic throughput. Rather, L2s are expected to articulate features that are not directly related to scaling, such as privacy characteristics, no-EVM performance, very low latency, or application-specific architecture.
Vitalik also rekindled support for a native rollup precompile on Ethereum. According to crypto news, this feature would verify ZK-EVM proofs on L1. Buterin believes that this tool would enhance trustless interoperability and ease rollup security.
Arbitrum and Optimism Defend the L2 Strategy
Leaders from Arbitrum and Optimism responded by highlighting their alignment with Ethereum’s long-term goals. Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, said Arbitrum has never opposed L1 scaling. He noted that Offchain Labs contributes directly to Ethereum development, including funding the Prysm client.
Goldfeder said Arbitrum is not Ethereum, but remains tightly linked to it. He highlighted that Arbitrum One ranks as the largest Ethereum L2 and a top blockchain by activity. Goldfeder cited strong demand for Arbitrum blockspace and record transaction volumes in 2025.
He also noted Ethereum’s reliance on L2s during market pressure. In recent volatility, Arbitrum and Base surpassed 1,000 transactions per second. In the same period, Ethereum L1 handled about 40 TPS.
Similar sentiments were echoed by optimism contributors. According to Karl Floersch, several levels of decentralization are already supported by the OP Stack. He admitted that some problems remain unresolved, such as protracted withdrawal windows and stage-2 proofs. However, he maintained that progress was being made.
Crypto News: Base Emphasizes Differentiation and Interoperability
Base also entered into the fray. Jesse Pollak declared that L2s cannot work as Ethereum at a lower price. He stated that Base focuses on user and developer onboarding and leverages the security of the Ethereum network.
Pollak affirmed that Base achieved stage 1 last year and is currently in stage 2. He mentioned that Base is working on additional features, such as native account abstraction and privacy, with support from the Ethereum Foundation.
In the responses, L2 teams did not agree that Ethereum and rollups are competitors. They instead described a symbiotic relationship. Ethernet offers security and settlement, whereas L2s manage scale, customization, and institutional needs.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/02/05/crypto-news-vitalik-buterin-sparks-debate-as-arbitrum-optimism-and-base-defend-l2-strategy/
