Vitalik Buterin Says Ethereum Layer 2s Can Now Achieve What 2010s Blockchains Never Could

Vitalik Buterin Pushes For Simpler Ethereum L2 Design To Cut Duplication And Boost Security

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called on developers to streamline how Layer 2 (L2) systems are built, urging teams to strip back complexity and lean more directly on the strengths of Ethereum’s base layer (L1).

His latest comments, shared on social platform X, come as projects like Celo shift from standalone Layer 1 blockchains to Ethereum-secured L2 networks.

Buterin views this architectural realignment not just as a trend, but as a practical evolution of blockchain design — one that allows developers to avoid recreating functions Ethereum already handles well.

Why Reinvent What Already Works?

Buterin's suggestion is simple: L2s should be minimal.

He posted,

“Reduce your logic to just being a sequencer and a prover (if based, just a prover) over the core execution.”

This means Layer 2s would no longer need to replicate consensus mechanisms, security models, or data availability features — all of which are already baked into Ethereum L1.

Instead of rebuilding infrastructure from scratch, developers can build more efficiently by focusing solely on ordering transactions and verifying proofs.

This model, Buterin argued, preserves performance and trust while removing the need to introduce new validators or add unnecessary layers of complexity.

L2 Vision Mirrors 2010s Enterprise Blockchain Dreams

Buterin pointed out that this leaner approach isn’t entirely new.

It echoes the aspirations of early enterprise blockchain efforts from over a decade ago — systems that hoped to offer both efficiency and trust minimisation but failed to materialise.

“This is the combination of trust minimization and efficiency that the 2010s enterprise blockchain crew wanted, but was never able to achieve. Now, with Ethereum L2s, you can achieve it.”

What’s changed since then is the maturity of Ethereum’s ecosystem.

With robust tooling, developer adoption, and growing infrastructure, the blockchain now provides a reliable foundation for others to build securely without sacrificing speed or usability.

Celo's Shift Shows Model In Action

The recent transition of Celo into an Ethereum L2 illustrates this approach.

Originally an independent L1 chain, Celo has reduced its inflation rate, cut block times from five seconds to just one, and scrapped legacy code to better align with Ethereum.

The move also allowed the network to tap into Ethereum's developer base and infrastructure while significantly improving its transaction capacity and user activity — even surpassing Tron in daily active wallet addresses.

The chain’s shift was one of the examples referenced in the post that triggered Buterin’s comment.

Developers discussing such transitions are increasingly recognising the benefits of building on Ethereum instead of competing with it.

Node Accessibility Still A Key Concern For Buterin

Outside of L2 design, Buterin has also continued pushing for solutions that support decentralisation at the user level.

In earlier proposals, he introduced the idea of “partially stateless nodes” — a way to allow more users to run personal Ethereum nodes even as gas limits and state size increase.

According to him, full node operation remains essential to prevent censorship risks and privacy leaks, especially when relying on centralised RPC providers.

L2s Can Now Do What Others Couldn’t

As Ethereum’s infrastructure continues to mature, Buterin believes the tools are finally in place to achieve what early blockchain platforms could not: a balance of speed, simplicity and trust.

His remarks aren’t just about efficiency — they’re about making Ethereum the settlement layer for a growing ecosystem of modular, trustless applications.

Is Ethereum Becoming The Internet’s Base Layer?

For Vitalik, the path forward is cooperation, not competition.

The more networks plug into its foundation rather than compete against it, the stronger and more resilient the ecosystem becomes.

If projects like Celo thrive under this model, the future may not be a battle of blockchains, but a layered web of protocols all tied back to a single, decentralised root.

Ethereum, in that case, isn’t just a blockchain — it’s the spine of the decentralised internet.