Buterin endorsed two promising models for future development: tightly coupled app-specific systems that rely on Ethereum for key functions, and institutional or application-driven chains that post cryptographic proofs or state commitments back to Ethereum.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin doubled down on his critique of the layer-2 ecosystem, warning that the industry has fallen into a pattern of copying itself rather than building genuinely new infrastructure, in a post on X on Thursday.
Buterin said that building “yet another EVM chain with an optimistic bridge and a one-week delay” has become the blockchain equivalent of forking Compound governance – referring to a habit of reusing familiar crypto designs rather than experimenting with new ideas.
The result, he argued, is an ecosystem that has optimized for comfort over creativity.
“We don’t need more copypasta EVM chains,” Buterin wrote, adding that Ethereum itself is scaling and will soon provide far more blockspace than it does today. While not infinite, that capacity weakens the long-standing justification for rollups that exist mainly to be “Ethereum but cheaper.”
Buterin was particularly critical of projects that market themselves as deeply connected to Ethereum while functioning largely as standalone networks. Having a bridge, he said, does not automatically make a chain part of Ethereum’s core architecture.
“Vibes need to match substance,” he wrote, arguing that the way projects present themselves publicly should reflect how tightly they are actually coupled to Ethereum in practice.
Buterin was, however, careful not to dismiss layer-2s outright. Instead, he outlined two directions he believes remain compelling.
One is tightly integrated “app-specific” systems, where Ethereum remains a first-class component for settlement, accounts or verification, while execution happens elsewhere.
The other path is what he described as institutional or application-driven chains that publish cryptographic proofs or state commitments to Ethereum. These systems are not Ethereum, Buterin said, but they can still advance similar goals around transparency and verifiability.
The message sharpens a debate that has been building for months as Ethereum fees stay low and base-layer throughput improves.
Buterin’s comments earlier this week sparked reactions across the layer-2 ecosystem.
Arbitrum’s Steven Goldfeder said the network should be seen as a close ally of Ethereum, not Ethereum itself, while Base head Jesse Pollak argued rollups must offer more than cheaper fees as the base layer improves.
Others, including Polygon leadership, framed Buterin’s critique as a push for clearer positioning rather than an existential threat, urging L2s to define what unique value they actually bring.
