Vitalik’s Definition and Standards for Ethereum Layer 2

Vitalik's Interpretation and Criteria for Ethereum Layer 2 Implementation

Author: Haotian, Cryptocurrency Analyst Source: X (formerly Twitter) @tmel0211

Did you think Vitalik Buterin’s analysis and summary of Ethereum Layer 2 was just for educational purposes? He is subtly drawing boundaries and setting standards for Ethereum Layer 2. Let me share with you the insights I’ve gathered:

1. Getting closer to Ethereum enhances the ecosystem

Furthermore, some overly centralized projects can gain consensus and security by integrating with Ethereum. Therefore, Ethereum Layer 2 has become a popular choice.

(Vitalik’s underlying message is that to become Layer 2, one must first understand the definition of Layer 2 and not engage in unnecessary experimentation. Among the various Layer 2 solutions emerging in the market, how many are truly focused on scalability? Many of them are more about narrative.)

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2. Plasma, Rollup, and Validium are all Layer 2 scaling solutions, each with its pros and cons.

Rollup relies on Ethereum for the safest handling of DA (Data Availability) assets, but it incurs higher costs. Validium, on the other hand, avoids the dependency on DA, reducing costs but compromising security. Independent chains like Plasma are cheaper but require third-party trust, lacking the security and consensus provided by Ethereum. Vitalik’s perspective on this issue is that the cost problem of DA is temporary and will be resolved with the upgrade to Cancun and danksharding. As for choosing the appropriate solution, applications should consider their own characteristics. If an application leans toward finance and asset protection, a Rollup-type Layer 2 would be more suitable. On the other hand, games or non-financial applications can use Validium or independent sidechains.

(The suitable scope for each type of scaling solution is actually quite clear. However, at present, the market is flooded with Rollup solutions, especially with the amplification of the OP Stack, but the choice of Layer 2 should be based on the application context. And as for solutions like Celestia, which combine third-party DA with Rollup, they do not yet exist within the strict definition of Layer 2. So one must be careful not to go in the wrong direction.)

3. There are two crucial aspects to Ethereum Layer 2:

1. The security of withdrawing to Ethereum; 2. The security of reading from Ethereum. The core focus on the security of withdrawals undoubtedly leads to the Rollup solution for DA on Ethereum. In the long run, the security of reading from Ethereum points to Validium solutions with independent security and consensus guarantees. Following this standard, ZK-Rollup has the highest security, followed by OP-Rollup, and then Validium and Plasma.

(These seemingly contradictory points actually reflect Vitalik’s anxiety. He is afraid that developers might try to ride on Ethereum without receiving substantial protection from it, yet he also hopes that developers can be independent and not rely too heavily on Ethereum. Balancing decentralization and scalability is not an easy task, and even Vitalik feels the pressure.)

Overall, Vitalik’s technically inclined discussion not only defines the boundaries of Layer 2 but also points out a reasonable direction for its development. Currently, Rollup is the mainstream Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, mainly because the Ethereum ecosystem is still dominated by financial-related DApps, and its security consensus is supported by the Ethereum mainnet, which makes a lot of sense. However, Vitalik actually intends to guide the development of a more ideal Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem that can adapt to various application scenarios with diverse forms of Layer 2. This is the real burden-free and complementary scaling solution.

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