Vitalik Buterin Says He’d Only Acknowledge Stage 1 Rollups, ‘The Era of Glorified Multisigs Is Over’

• Buterin said he won't endorse Layer-2 solutions unless they've reached at least stage 1 maturity.
• He highlighted the importance of decentralization in ZK-rollups and said the era of glorified multisigs is coming to an end.'
• Several prominent L2s, including Optimism and Arbitrum, are on the way to stage 2 maturity.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has made it clear that he'd only publicly acknowledge Layer-2 solutions with at least stage 1 maturity. Buterin added new projects he finds genuinely interesting might get a short grace period.

Let's unpack Vitalik Buterin's expectations from Ethereum rollups and see whether they're warranted.

Vitalik Buterin Sets the Bar Higher

In his September 12 X post, Buterin confirmed multiple ZK-rollup teams are on track to reach stage 1 by the end of 2024.

Buterin elaborated that stage 1 implies that 75% of the council members must agree to override the proof system, and at least 26% must be independent from the rollup team.

The Ethereum co-founder also believes Layer-2 solutions should shift toward advanced cryptographic techniques for greater security and decentralization.

The era of rollups being glorified multisigs is coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust is upon us.Vitalik Buterin

It doesn't matter if I invested or if you're my friend,' Buterin added, highlighting that the ecosystem's security standards are paramount.

Three Stages of Rollup Maturity

In 2022, Buterin introduced the temporary training wheels' concept for ZK-rollup projects. Essentially, it means that while a project's technology is still under development, it may launch early with a safety net in place.

Buterin outlines three stages of rollup maturity:

• Stage 0: Rollups at this stage heavily rely on multisignature (multisig) mechanisms and need full training wheels.'
• Stage 1: Rollups start to incorporate fraud proofs or validity proofs but still have a multisig mechanism as a backup.
• Stage 2: Rollups can operate independently without relying on multisig mechanisms.

According to Buterin's X post, stage 1 is the minimum level he will now acknowledge. The pinnacle of Layer-2 decentralization is stage 2, where rollups operate independently without external oversight.

No group should be able to override the code unless there's a need to clear bugs. In this case, the council must implement a 30-day upgrade delay.

Layer-2 Race Heats Up

Earlier this year, Linea, Optimism, ZKsync, and Arbitrum announced they would achieve stage 2 decentralization in a few years.

Despite standing at stage 1 maturity, Arbitrum is the #1 Layer-2 chain by Total Value Locked ($2.5B). Base ranks #2 with a $1.4B TVL despite its stage 0 maturity.

It appears that the crypto community disagreeswith Buterin's emphasis on rollup maturity, and some investors even prefer L2s to L1s.

Closing Remarks

Buterin's requirements for security and decentralizationmight seem overly strictgiven the low number of ZK-rollups that reached at least stage 1.

However, they are crucial for building a trustworthy and scalable ecosystem that can help Ethereum maintain its leading position and unlock its potential.

References

• Vitalik.eth (X)
• Proposed milestones for rollups taking off training wheels (Ethereum Magicians)
• Top Layer 2 Chains by Total Value Locked (TVL) (CoinGecko)

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