Vitalik Buterin’s L2 strategy: A closer look at Ethereum’s future

• Goldfeder countered L2 criticism using Buterin’s 2020 roadmap.
• Buterin likened L2s to web browsers, enhancing Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Recently, critics have scrutinized Vitalik Buterin’s vision for Layer 2 (L2) solutions, claiming that L2s have strayed from Ethereum’s [ETH] foundational principles and the original roadmap.

These arguments suggest that L2 solutions, designed to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, no longer align with the network’s core objectives.

However, many of these criticisms overlook key aspects of Buterin’s 2020 rollup-centric roadmap, which outlines a clear path for L2 development.

Steven Goldfeder defends Buterin’s L2 roadmap

In response to these criticisms, Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder addressed the issue in a recent post on X.

He countered the claims by revisiting Vitalik Buterin’s 2020 rollup-centric roadmap, emphasizing that the current development of Layer 2 solutions is still aligned with Ethereum’s long-term vision.

He said, 

“Those arguing that L2s have become misaligned clearly haven’t read @VitalikButerin’s Rollup centric roadmap from 2020.” 

To strengthen his argument, Goldfeder shared “three quotes that directly refute some of the most bizarre claims,” providing clear evidence in support of Buterin’s original roadmap.

The initial criticism stemmed from a common misconception that different Layer 2 (L2) solutions, such as Arbitrum and Base, could not belong to the Ethereum ecosystem due to their competitive nature. 

However, Goldfeder debunked this claim by referencing Vitalik Buterin’s roadmap, which emphasized that, 

“it’s okay (actually good!) for Ethereum to consist of several “islands” that are unique yet still part of a greater Ethereum.”

Source: Steven Goldfeder/X

This shows that these “islands” can still contribute to the overall Ethereum ecosystem despite their differences.

Diversity in L2 solutions strengthens Ethereum by offering various approaches that complement rather than detract from the network.

The second claim was that “L2 tokens are bad. Collecting fees/MEV revenue is bad and misaligned with Ethereum.”

Goldfeder pointed out that this claim is unfounded, emphasizing that,

“This was a key feature in the 2020 roadmap”

Source: Steven Goldfeder/X

The final claim made by critics argued that “L2s aren’t meant for DeFi. DeFi should be left on Ethereum, and L2s supporting DeFi projects are misaligned.” 

To which Goldfeder replied, 

“Vitalik literally calls out DeFi as the expected first adopter in a comment on the 2020 roadmap:”

Source: Steven Goldfeder/X

Further concluding his argument, he said,

Source: Steven Goldfeder/X

Vitalik Buterin responds

Vitalik Buterin also joined the discussion and offered his perspective on Layer 2 solutions.

Source: Vitalik Buterin/X

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price struggled to break the $2,500 barrier, trading at $2,337—down 0.91% over the past 24 hours.