Historic turn: Vitalik Buterin denies Layer 2, Ethereum roadmap completely rewritten To be honest, when I saw Vitalik's tweet, my first reaction was only two words: what the fuck. This is not an ordinary technical discussion. This is Vitalik's public denial of Ethereum's core path over the past five years. He said it very bluntly: The original vision of Layer2 as "Branded Sharding" is no longer valid. If you create an EVM with a TPS of tens of thousands, but rely on a multi signature bridge to connect L1, then you are not expanding Ethereum. Translated into adult language: Nowadays, many Layer2 are not essentially a part of Ethereum. The weight of this sentence is no less than when he personally sentenced Plasma to death. But this time, what was denied was the mainstream narrative of the entire five years. 1、 Layer 2 was really a lifesaver back then Returning to 2021: A transaction worth tens of dollars NFT Casting for Hundreds of Knives Ordinary users simply cannot afford to play Solana's high TPS+low cost crazy mockery of Ethereum Ethereum has been cornered. So Vitalik launched the route that was later written into textbooks: Rollup-centric roadmap L1 serves as the settlement layer L2 serves as the execution layer L2=shard replacement solution The entire ecosystem is in Layer 2: Arbitrum、Optimism、zkSync、Starknet、Base。 That's not idealism, it's a survival strategy. 2、 Five years have passed, what has L2 become? To put it bluntly: Many Layer2 have become centralized databases+blockchain skins. The reality is: Single Sequencer Multi signature control upgrade Users cannot exit without permission MEV belongs to the project party The key logic is controlled by the company Even some projects directly state: We will no longer decentralize because we need to meet regulatory requirements. Vitalik's response was very cold: So you're not expanding Ethereum. This is not technical criticism, it is a denial of value. 3、 The real turning point: L1 is starting to speed up on its own If L2 is not doing well enough, they can still struggle. But the problem is: The Ethereum mainnet has started to expand. Last year: Gas Limit continues to increase parallel execution Stateless client Fusaka, Glamsterdam upgrade Target 200M Gas Limit The result is cruel: At the beginning of 2026: The average handling fee is approximately 0.44 US dollars Off peak hours<0.1 USD Sometimes even 0.01 US dollars When the mainnet is already so cheap and so fast: Why do users still need to: cross-chain bridge wait for confirmation Take on the risk of the bridge being hacked Enduring liquidity fragmentation? The biggest reason for Layer 2 is that it was taken down by L1 itself. 4、 Cross chain bridges and fragmentation are failures in themselves In 2022: Wormhole stolen 325 million Ronin was stolen 540 million yuan One year bridge attack losses $2 billion This is a structural risk. At the same time: Liquidity is divided into more than ten chains Higher sliding point UX is more complex Lower capital efficiency Layer2 did not make the world simpler, On the contrary, it is more complex. 5、 Valuation foam and "ghost city" Now the market has given the answer: Base, Arbitrarum, Optimism control approximately 90% of trading volume Almost no one else uses L2 Many chains have become airdrop sites Starknet coin price drops 98% from high point Insufficient income to pay server fees The problem is not technical, But rather: there is no real need. 6、 Vitalik's new positioning: plugin, not clone The most important point this time is: Vitalik didn't say 'Layer 2 is useless', What he said is—— Don't use L2 as an expansion tool anymore, And it should be regarded as a layer that provides L1 with functions that it is unwilling or unable to provide. The directions include: privacy game social AI computing Millisecond level confirmation Non financial applications Summary in one sentence: Layer2 has changed from an "Ethereum clone" to a "functional plugin". Power returns to L1. 7、 This is not betrayal, this is admitting one's mistake Many people would say: Has the route failed? I actually feel that: This is the strongest aspect of Ethereum—— It dares to admit that the assumption is not valid. Layer2 has not disappeared, But its era as the 'only future' of Ethereum has come to an end. Five years ago, Ethereum was cornered by Solana. Five years later, it discovered: The best expansion plan is to make oneself stronger. When: Gas Limit → 200M Handling fee → How many cents Users no longer need cross chain bridges The market will vote with its feet. Those: Holding a sky high valuation No real users Still refusing decentralization Layer 2, It will become an expensive transitional product. ending This is not an upgrade, This is a roadmap coup. It wasn't Layer2 that saved Ethereum, But Ethereum has regained its sovereignty.