There have recently been some discussions on the ongoing role of L2s in the Ethereum ecosystem, especially in the face of two facts:
* L2s' progress to stage 2 (and, secondarily, on interop) has been far slower and more difficult than originally expected
* L1 itself is scaling, fees are very low, and gaslimits are projected to increase greatly in 2026
Both of these facts, for their own separate reasons, mean that the original vision of L2s and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense, and we need a new path.
First, let us recap the original vision. Ethereum needs to scale. The definition of "Ethereum scaling" is the existence of large quantities of block space that is backed by the full faith and credit of Ethereum - that is, block space where, if you do things (including with ETH) inside that block space, your activities are guaranteed to be valid, uncensored, unreverted, untouched, as long as Ethereum itself functions. If you create a 10000 TPS EVM where its connection to L1 is mediated by a multisig bridge, then you are not scaling Ethereum.
This vision no longer makes sense. L1 does not need L2s to be "branded shards", because L1 is itself scaling. And L2s are not able or willing to satisfy the properties that a true "branded shard" would require. I've even seen at least one explicitly saying that they may never want to go beyond stage 1, not just for technical reasons around ZK-EVM safety, but also because their customers' regulatory needs require them to have ultimate control. This may be doing the right thing for your customers. But it should be obvious that if you are doing this, then you are not "scaling Ethereum" in the sense meant by the rollup-centric roadmap. But that's fine! it's fine because Ethereum itself is now scaling directly on L1, with large planned increases to its gas limit this year and the years ahead.
We should stop thinking about L2s as literally being "branded shards" of Ethereum, with the social status and responsibilities that this entails. Instead, we can think of L2s as being a full spectrum, which includes both chains backed by the full faith and credit of Ethereum with various unique properties (eg. not just EVM), as well as a whole array of options at different levels of connection to Ethereum, that each person (or bot) is free to care about or not care about depending on their needs.
What would I do today if I were an L2?
* Identify a value add other than "scaling". Examples: (i) non-EVM specialized features/VMs around privacy, (ii) efficiency specialized around a particular application, (iii) truly extreme levels of scaling that even a greatly expanded L1 will not do, (iv) a totally different design for non-financial applications, eg. social, identity, AI, (v) ultra-low-latency and other sequencing properties, (vi) maybe built-in oracles or decentralized dispute resolution or other "non-computationally-verifiable" features
* Be stage 1 at the minimum (otherwise you really are just a separate L1 with a bridge, and you should just call yourself that) if you're doing things with ETH or other ethereum-issued assets
* Support maximum interoperability with Ethereum, though this will differ for each one (eg. what if you're not EVM, or even not financial?)
From Ethereum's side, over the past few months I've become more convinced of the value of the native rollup precompile, particuarly once we have enshrined ZK-EVM proofs that we need anyway to scale L1. This is a precompile that verifies a ZK-EVM proof, and it's "part of Ethereum", so (i) it auto-upgrades along with Ethereum, and (ii) if the precompile has a bug, Ethereum will hard-fork to fix the bug.
The native rollup precompile would make full, security-council-free, EVM verification accessible. We should spend much more time working out how to design it in such a way that if your L2 is "EVM plus other stuff", then the native rollup precompile would verify the EVM, and you only have to bring your own prover for the "other stuff" (eg. Stylus). This might involve a canonical way of exposing a lookup table between contract call inputs and outputs, and letting you provide your own values to the lookup table (that you would prove separately).
This would make it easy to have safe, strong, trustless interoperability with Ethereum. It also enables synchronous composability (see: https://t.co/9jy6v1X6Fw and https://t.co/gZmu3YjebM ). And from there, it's each L2's choice exactly what they want to build. Don't just "extend L1", figure out something new to add.
This of course means that some will add things that are trust-dependent, or backdoored, or otherwise insecure; this is unavoidable in a permissionless ecosystem where developers have freedom. Our job should make to make it clear to users what guarantees they have, and to build up the strongest Ethereum that we can.
Ethereum is the #1 choice for global financial institutions.
Over the last few months, adoption has accelerated. Here are 35 stories of how institutions are building on Ethereum.
1/ @krakenfx launched xStocks on Ethereum, issuing tokenized versions of popular U.S. stocks and ETFs as ERC-20 tokens.
Kraken’s eligible clients can now deposit and withdraw fully collateralized equities, directly on Ethereum.
2/ @OndoFinance launched Ondo Global Markets on Ethereum with 100+ tokenized U.S. stocks & ETFs.
24/7 access to programmable equities, backed by real securities, is now available alongside DeFi integrations for lending, trading, and more.
3/ @ChinaAMC_HK launched its Select USD Money Market Fund on Ethereum, one of the first tokenized funds from a major Chinese asset manager.
One of Asia’s largest firms (over $449B AUM) now provides access to high-quality, short-term USD instruments with 24/7 settlement.
4/ @Fidelity introduced the FDIT tokenized money market fund on Ethereum.
The Fidelity Digital Interest Token (FDIT) brings the bank’s investors the speed of onchain settlement alongside the stability of traditional instruments.
5/ @Google announced the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), enabling AI agents to autonomously execute payments using stablecoins on Ethereum.
Built in collaboration with The Ethereum Foundation, Coinbase, MetaMask, and others, AP2 allows AI to transact securely, bridging the gap between automated intelligence and finance.
6/ @UBS, @PostFinance, @sygnumofficial, and the Swiss Bankers Association successfully piloted Deposit Tokens on Ethereum.
By demonstrating legally binding cross-bank settlement on Ethereum’s public infrastructure, the proof-of-concept paves the way for programmable, instant, cross-institution settlement.
7/ Santander’s @openbank_es launched ETH trading services in Germany, allowing customers to buy, sell, and custody ETH directly through their bank accounts.
This integration is a strong signal of institutional confidence in ETH under MiCa regulation.
8/ @AmericanExpress launched Amex Passport, blockchain-based travel stamps minted as NFTs on Ethereum L2 @base.
Cardholders can now create an onchain record of experiences and memories from international trips, blending loyalty rewards with digital ownership.
9/ The first tokenized S&P 500 Index Fund licensed by @SPDJIndices, SPXA, was launched by @centrifuge on Base.
10/ SWIFT and 30+ banks are designing a blockchain ledger to support tokenized assets and real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments alongside existing financial systems, starting with a prototype with Consensys.
@swiftcommunity connecting 11,500+ institutions globally will create a bridge between traditional finance and onchain value.
11/ @SocieteGenerale FORGE, an integrated subsidiary of the 161-year-old commercial bank, deployed EURCV & USDCV lending and trading on Ethereum DeFi protocols Morpho and Uniswap.
One of the largest custodians in Europe now provides institutional-grade collateral and liquidity for DeFi markets.
12/ @Stripe expanded its crypto support on Ethereum to include stablecoin-based subscriptions and recurring billing.
Hundreds of thousands of companies that use Stripe can now accept USDC for subscriptions with automatic renewals, building on Ethereum for lower-cost payments with near-instant settlement.
13/ @Securitize and @FGNexusio tokenized the FGNX stock on Ethereum, representing the first NASDAQ-listed preferred equity issued fully onchain.
Ethereum is the platform to build programmable assets that bring public markets to the digital age.
14/ @AntGroup, the fintech behind @Alipay, launched @JovayNetwork, a L2 for institutional tokenization.
The company behind one of the world's largest retail platforms is now building global institutional settlement for tokenized assets on Ethereum.
15/ @jpyc_official launched the world's first yen-pegged regulated stablecoin on Ethereum.
Complaint, programmable yen transactions are now available worldwide, backed 1:1 by yen reserves under Japan’s Payment Services Act.
16/ @BNYglobal and Securitize announced a tokenized AAA-rated CLO fund on Ethereum.
Institutional credit moving onchain brings liquidity and transparency to traditional asset classes.
17/ Google partnered with @Polymarket, integrating onchain prediction market data to Google search results.
The largest search provider now leverages the Ethereum ecosystem as a primary source of truth.
18/ @StartaleGroup released the Startale App, a SuperApp for @soneium's growing Ethereum L2.
Mainstream users in the Soneium L2 ecosystem can now access simple onchain interactions and rewards with a unified platform for wallets, assets, and apps.
19/ @jpmorgan migrated its tokenized deposit product, JPM Coin (JPMD), from its internal permissioned blockchain to Base.
Moving from a private chain to an Ethereum L2 will meet demand from JPMorgan’s institutional clients for payments, collateral, and margin settlement on public infrastructure.
20/ @Mastercard announced it will build on Ethereum L2 @0xPolygon to expand its Crypto Credential program to self-custody wallets.
Working with @mercuryo_io, the expansion will allow Mastercard users to send crypto using verified, human-readable aliases.
21/ @Amundi_ENG, Europe’s largest asset manager ($2.75T AUM), launched a tokenized share class of its euro money market fund on Ethereum mainnet.
Bringing traditional cash management onchain unlocks 24/7 settlement and composability for euro-denominated capital.
22/ Sony Bank announced plans to launch a USD-pegged stablecoin on @soneium, its Ethereum L2, in early 2026.
From gaming to finance, Sony is building its ecosystem’s home base on Ethereum.
23/ @WisdomTreeEU introduced the world’s first physically-backed ETP for @LidoFinance Staked Ether.
The fund will provide European investors with regulated exposure to the spot price of stETH and its ETH staking rewards.
24/ The @CFTC announced a pilot program that will allow ETH, BTC, and USDC to be used as collateral in US derivatives markets, alongside new guidance on using tokenized assets as collateral.
This marks a significant shift in how ETH and other digital assets can be integrated into regulated US markets.
25/ @BlackRock filed for a staked ETH ETF.
Following the success of their spot ETH ETF, this filing seeks to unlock the value of Ethereum's native staking reward rate for traditional investors.
26/ The @ADI_Foundation, backed by IHC, announced the mainnet launch of institutional L2 @ADIChain_, part of the @zksync Elastic Network.
Supported by the UAE's largest conglomerate, ADIChain will host the country's regulated stablecoins and aims to bring 1 billion people onchain across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
27/ JP Morgan launched MONY, their first tokenized money market fund, on Ethereum mainnet.
The firm seeded the fund with $100M of its own capital, signaling their commitment to public chain tokenization.
28/ @coinbase announced Coinbase Tokenize, built on Base, as their new end-to-end institutional platform for tokenizing RWAs.
Combining issuance, custody, compliance, trading, and infrastructure, the new product will streamline the process of bringing assets like tokenized stocks, equities, funds, and real estate onchain in the Ethereum ecosystem.
29/ @RobinhoodApp added 500 tokenized assets on @arbitrum, bringing their platform to nearly 2000 assets tokenized.
With over $14M in total tokenized value, Robinhood continues deepening their integration with Ethereum’s L2 ecosystem.
30/ @BlackRock, @Mastercard, and @FTI_Global partnered with the ADI Foundation in the UAE, builders of the ADIChain L2.
The group will explore tokenized asset structures, digital asset regulatory frameworks, stablecoin settlement, and cross-border payment infrastructure.
31/ @SoFi became the first national US retail bank to issue a stablecoin (SoFiUSD) on a public, permissionless blockchain.
Launched on Ethereum, SoFiUSD will first be used for faster, cheaper internal settlements for the fintech giant and its partners.
32/ @telcoin launched eUSD on Ethereum and Polygon, a regulated U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Nebraska state-chartered digital asset depository institution Telcoin Digital Asset Bank.
The launch marks another milestone in U.S.-regulated banks issuing stablecoins directly on public blockchains, bringing traditional regulated banking to the Ethereum ecosystem.
33/ @Grayscale distributed the first ETH staking rewards to ETHE ETF shareholders.
In a first for US regulated products, investors received Ethereum’s native yield directly, proving that staked ETH ETFs can deliver the economic utility of the network.
34/ @MorganStanley filed for a Staked Ether ETF, doubling down on its crypto strategy.
One of the world’s largest wealth managers is moving beyond spot exposure to capture Ethereum’s native staking yield for clients, signaling a shift to productive participation.
35/ The ADI Foundation partnered with M-Pesa to bring 60M+ users onchain.
Africa’s largest mobile money platform is integrating blockchain rails to power instant cross-border payments and stablecoin transactions, merging massive fintech scale with Ethereum’s global settlement layer.
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Ethereum is the trusted, global settlement layer for real-world adoption, used by institutions, governments, and enterprises worldwide.
Learn more about building on the institutional liquidity layer: https://t.co/jUshBvAXKa
Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.
Ethereum is meant to be a home for trustless and trust-minimized applications, whether in finance, governance or elsewhere. It must support applications that are more like tools - the hammer that once you buy it's yours - than like services that lose all functionality once the vendor loses interest in maintaining them (or worse, gets hacked or becomes value-extractive). Even when applications do have functionality that depends on a vendor, Ethereum can help reduce those dependencies as much as possible, and protect the user as much as possible in those cases where the dependencies fail.
But building such applications is not possible on a base layer which itself depends on ongoing updates from a vendor in order to continue being usable - even if that "vendor" is the all core devs process. Ethereum the blockchain must have the traits that we strive for in Ethereum's applications. Hence, Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.
This means that Ethereum must get to a place where we _can ossify if we want to_. We do not have to stop making changes to the protocol, but we must get to a place where Ethereum's value proposition does not strictly depend on any features that are not in the protocol already.
This includes the following:
* Full quantum-resistance. We should resist the trap of saying "let's delay quantum-resistance until the last possible moment in the name of ekeing out more efficiencies for a while longer". Individual users have that right, but the protocol should not. Being able to say "Ethereum's protocol, as it stands today, is cryptographically safe for a hundred years" is something we should strive to get to as soon as possible, and insist on as a point of pride.
* An architecture that can expand to sufficient scalability. The protocol needs to have the properties that allow it to expand to many thousands of TPS over time, most notably ZK-EVM validation and data sampling through PeerDAS. Ideally, we get to a point where further scaling is done through "parameter only" changes - and ideally _those_ changes are not BPO-style forks, but rather are made with the same validator voting mechanism we use for the gas limit.
* A state architecture that can last decades. This means deciding, and implementing, whatever form of partial statelessness and state expiry will let us feel comfortable letting Ethereum run with thousands of TPS for decades, without breaking sync or hard disk or I/O requirements. It also means future-proofing the tree and storage types to work well with this long-term environment.
* An account model that is general-purpose (this is "full account abstraction": move away from enshrined ECDSA for signature validation)
* A gas schedule that we are confident is free of DoS vulnerabilities, both for execution and for ZK-proving
* A PoS economic model that, with all we have learned over the past half decade of proof of stake in Ethereum and full decade beyond, we are confident can last and remain decentralized for decades, and supports the usefulness of ETH as trustless collateral (eg. in governance-minimized ETH-backed stablecoins)
* A block building model that we are confident will resist centralization pressure and guarantee censorship resistance even in unknown future environments
Ideally, we do the hard work over the next few years, to get to a point where in the future almost all future innovation can happen through client optimization, and get reflected in the protocol through parameter changes. Every year, we should tick off at least one of these boxes, and ideally multiple. Do the right thing once, based on knowledge of what is truly the right thing (and not compromise halfway fixes), and maximize Ethereum's technological and social robustness for the long term.
Ethereum goes hard.
This is the gwei.
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