Ethereum (ETH) creator Vitalik Buterin recently announced that starting next year, he will only publicly mention layer-2 projects that he believes are on track towards achieving optimal decentralization. In a tweet addressed to his 5.4 million followers on the social media platform X, Buterin stated his intentions for 2025, indicating that he will only highlight L2 projects that are in “stage 1” or above, as outlined in a previous blog post discussing the various phases of decentralization.
The blog post titled “Proposed milestones for rollups taking off training wheels,” published in November 2022, categorized L2 projects as being in stage 0, 1, or 2 in terms of decentralization. Buterin elaborated that a project in “stage 1” should have a functioning fraud-proof or validity-proof scheme, specific upgrade requirements, and multi-sig overrides.
Fast forward almost two years later, Buterin reiterated his commitment to promoting only L2 projects in stage 1, regardless of his personal investments or connections within the industry. He emphasized the importance of reaching this milestone, stating that it signifies a significant step towards achieving decentralized trust within the ecosystem.
Buterin highlighted that several ZK-rollup teams have assured him that they are on track to reach stage 1 by the end of the year, expressing his anticipation for this progress. He also emphasized the need for caution in transitioning from training wheels to a more secure proof system, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the proof systems are indeed secure before moving forward.
The Ethereum co-founder refrained from naming any specific L2 projects that meet his standards for decentralization, but he acknowledged Polygon (POL) as one of the largest L2 projects currently, boasting a market cap of $2.67 billion.
In conclusion, Buterin’s focus on promoting decentralized L2 projects signals a shift in the industry towards prioritizing trust and security in blockchain technology. As the era of rollups being glorified multisigs comes to an end, the emphasis on cryptographic trust is becoming increasingly prevalent. Stay tuned for further updates on the development of decentralized L2 projects in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Source: Vitalik Buterin/X
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