Recently, two seemingly unrelated clues in the Ethereum ecosystem have been tightened simultaneously: on one end, L2BEAT, which has long played the role of independent research and risk tracking for Layer 2, announced its rebranding to ETHBEAT. In its official statement, it will continue to monitor various Layer 2 projects while extending its research scope to broader Ethereum topics such as privacy, interoperability, tokens, zero-knowledge technology, and liquid staking. On the other end, a protocol upgrade proposal appeared in the Scroll DAO forum, attempting to restructure the current Scroll, which is positioned as a general-purpose zkEVM Rollup, into a permissioned application-specific network aimed at privacy AI scenarios. It plans to migrate the SCR token, which originally operates in the existing environment, entirely to the Ethereum mainnet, with the Scroll Foundation leading the execution of the upgrade and migration once the proposal is passed by the community. According to media reports, these two events occurred roughly around the same time, but specific timing has not been independently confirmed by multiple sources, nor do public materials show a direct causal relationship between the two. However, whether it’s ETHBEAT expanding from a single Layer 2 research platform to a broader range of Ethereum topics, or Scroll attempting to reconstruct its network use and migrate tokens towards a permissioned application-specific network centered around privacy AI, they collectively reflect the same trend judgment: as the scalability race enters a relatively mature stage, participants in the Ethereum ecosystem are actively reshaping their boundaries and value positioning through distinctly different paths.
From L2 Observation Deck to ETH Panorama Radar
During the peak years of the scalability narrative, L2BEAT resembled an “observation deck” on Ethereum: it did not endorse any projects, instead adopting an independent third-party stance to systematically track the risks and security of various Layer 2 projects, presenting data, architecture, and risk assumptions openly, allowing developers and users to assess which solutions were trustworthy. Over time, it became almost a foundational reference for the Layer 2 track, a “public radar chart” indicating who is launching, who is upgrading, and who is adjusting security models.
Recently, this observation deck chose to upgrade into a larger radar. From a branding perspective, L2BEAT’s renaming to ETHBEAT itself is a statement of position: it is no longer focused solely on “Layer 2 as one floor”, but rather elevating its perspective to the entire Ethereum building. The official statement clearly articulates that the research landscape will expand to include privacy, interoperability, tokens, zero-knowledge technology, and liquid staking, positioning itself with a core of “Ethereum-level security.” It plans to filter which protocols genuinely commit to the same level of security as the mainnet through subsequent project guidelines based on the CROPS principles. However, the renaming does not imply abandoning the old battlefield - Layer 2 monitoring is emphasized as still part of ETHBEAT's work, merely transitioning from the leading role to a key segment in a larger narrative. In a sense, ETHBEAT's shift reflects the broadening of Ethereum topics themselves: evolving from the singular issue of “how to pack more transactions into blocks” to a comprehensive discussion surrounding scalability, privacy, interoperability, and staking security; and this transformation from L2 observation deck to ETH panorama radar is itself a concentrated reflection of this evolution.
Who Can Obtain a Security Pass Through CROPS
In the same wave of actions leading up to the rebranding as ETHBEAT, a more sensitive signal is its anticipated “CROPS Project Selection Guide.” In public statements, CROPS is described as a set of principles used to assess whether a project's security commitments meet Ethereum standards, with media directly naming this goal as “Ethereum-level security.” In other words, which projects can claim to provide security commitments matching those of the Ethereum mainnet will likely have to first pass through this “security pass” granted by ETHBEAT according to the CROPS principles. However, this guide remains in the “planned launch” stage, and there is currently no timeline in existing materials for when it will be released or how it will be executed.
For projects within the Ethereum ecosystem, this selection commitment primarily means a redistribution of brand ranking authority: names appearing in the CROPS guide will naturally gain a layer of “Ethereum-level security endorsement,” while those excluded may default to a lesser security perception in the minds of users. For users and developers accustomed to viewing ETHBEAT as a risk radar, CROPS could also potentially become a straightforward trust proxy—whether to make it onto the list is more intuitive than lengthy technical explanations. However, there are currently no public documents detailing CROPS’s specific definition, indicator composition, or scoring method; this means the market must reserve trust for a standard system that has yet to be fully revealed under conditions of information asymmetry, and indicates that before CROPS is properly operationalized, the substantive boundary of “Ethereum-level security” remains an unbounded gray area.
Scroll DAO's Shift to a Privacy AI Network
While the discourse on “Ethereum-level security” is still in the realm of standard naming, Scroll, initially positioned as a general-purpose zkEVM Rollup, has proposed another route in its governance forum. The proposal targets the protocol layer: it no longer presents itself as an open general Layer 2 but proposes to transform the current Scroll network into a permissioned application-specific network aimed at privacy AI scenarios. The new chain resources will prioritize services for a select few explicitly named applications and assets, such as Compass, Compass API, CENO, USX, and SCR, narrowing the once “anyone can come” scalability infrastructure into a dedicated chassis for specific business stacks.
The more concrete restructuring intent is defined by the token and the executing body. According to the proposal, SCR will migrate from the current environment to the Ethereum mainnet, reinforcing the direct relationship between SCR and the mainnet, and re-establishing the value anchor back to L1, concurrently allowing the Scroll Foundation to spearhead the entire network upgrade and asset migration process after community voting approval. However, as of now, all of this remains in the early stages of governance processes, with no voting results or implementation timelines disclosed publicly. Whether Scroll will truly pivot from being a general zkEVM Rollup to a privacy AI-specific network still remains an unresolved question.
Two Transformation Paths on the Same Chain
During the same period, along the main artery of Ethereum, ETHBEAT and Scroll have chosen distinctly different transformation paths. The former has expanded its research boundaries outward through brand upgrading, bringing sub-tracks such as privacy, interoperability, tokens, zero-knowledge technology, and liquid staking into view, positioning itself as a “security and risk observation deck” covering more Ethereum topics. It continues to track various Layer 2 projects while announcing its plan to release a project selection guide based on the CROPS principles, aiming to use an evaluation framework to define who genuinely deserves the commitment of “Ethereum-level security.” Scroll, on the other hand, has taken a different route: instead of expanding the research panel, it attempts to rewrite the use of its network—through a DAO upgrade proposal, transforming the existing general-purpose zkEVM Rollup into a permissioned application-specific network for privacy AI scenarios, with the target clients restricted to specific applications or assets such as Compass, Compass API, CENO, USX, and SCR, while planning to migrate the SCR token to the Ethereum mainnet, with the Scroll Foundation leading the entire upgrade and migration process after community approval.
If ETHBEAT represents an evaluative angle leaning towards the Ethereum mainnet, trying to influence the landscape of value capture through the division of “who counts as secure and who does not,” Scroll’s proposal actively performs subtraction in network structure, by tightening its use and migrating tokens, binding its fate more deeply to the mainnet. The commonality between the two lies in the exploration of new positions within the narrative of Ethereum security and sovereignty, yet they experiment with differentiated paths from the dimensions of research boundaries and network utility, pushing the ecological discourse from a singular “scalability track” towards a multi-threaded narrative of “privacy + AI + security” during a stage where the Layer 2 competitive landscape is relatively solidified. However, it is important to emphasize that public materials do not show any business dependence or causal timeline between ETHBEAT's rebranding and Scroll's upgrade proposal; they can currently only be viewed as two independent responses emerging in the same period on the same chain.
The Next Move in Ethereum Depends on Who Plays the Cards
From ETHBEAT rebranding and attempting to redraw the research landscape with the upcoming CROPS guideline, to Scroll’s proposal in the DAO to transform the general zkEVM Rollup into a permissioned network for privacy AI, these two moves collectively point to: the Ethereum ecosystem is renegotiating what constitutes the “Ethereum boundary” and who is qualified to tell the story of “Ethereum-level security.” However, currently, ETHBEAT has only provided the direction for expanding its research scope and planned guidelines, with specific standards and operational rhythms still unresolved; Scroll's upgrade proposal is also still in the governance process, with its approval and execution dependent on subsequent community voting and foundation actions. More critically, whether the details of the CROPS principles or the design of the new network's permission mechanism, both remain blank in the existing public materials, and the outside world can only see a stance of diversified exploration, rather than a locked-in route. It is expected that the boundary adjustments of research institutions like ETHBEAT and the reorientation of protocol governance like Scroll will continue to alter how projects align with the narrative of “Ethereum-level security,” and the next step for Ethereum will depend on whether they can provide verifiable answers in real governance outcomes and public rules.
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