Vitalik Buterin Advocates for Ethereum Layer-2 Interoperability

Vitalik Buterin, the influential co-founder of Ethereum, recently voiced his concerns on Twitter about the current state of Ethereum’s layer-2 networks. Buterin stressed that the ecosystem feels disjointed and lacks unity, calling for enhanced interoperability among the various networks that aim to scale Ethereum in different ways.

“The L2-verse doesn’t feel enough like a unified Ethereum,” Buterin stated. “It’s much better than a year ago, but still far from perfect.” His call to action is for the development of an “open, decentralized, operator-free, governance-free protocol” that would allow for the seamless transfer of assets across layer-2 networks. This protocol, he suggests, should be integrated directly into wallets to facilitate easy and efficient transactions.

Buterin’s vision includes a shift away from proprietary solutions towards a more inclusive and standardized approach. He emphasized the necessity of establishing foundational interoperability before focusing on more complex optimizations for scalability. “Get the basics done before getting too committed to any fancy toys,” he advised, responding to suggestions for advanced scalability enhancements.

The problem, as Buterin sees it, lies in the current bridge options like Optimism’s Superchain, which are limited to specific networks, in this case, those building on the OP Stack. This approach leads to fragmentation, which Buterin believes could be detrimental to the Ethereum ecosystem. “We need to get serious on doing this Ethereum-wide,” he explained, advocating for a unified strategy to prevent fragmentation across different sub-ecosystems.

To achieve this, Buterin proposes the creation of a Basic Infrastructure Guild alongside the existing Protocol Guild. This new guild would focus on accelerating the development of cross-layer-2 bridging solutions, zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs), and other infrastructure projects considered public goods for the ecosystem.

Buterin likens his vision to the Linux model, where individual companies are encouraged to contribute and even lead initiatives but within a framework that views these contributions as public goods rather than proprietary products. “Set the standard that these things are ecosystem-wide public goods, and not products of individual companies,” Buterin asserted. This approach would ensure that advancements benefit the entire Ethereum community rather than a select few.