ETHTaipei Vitalik’s Vision for the Ultimate Expansion of Ethereum L2: Efficiency, Security, and Interoperability

04/01/2025

Vitalik Buterin Outlines Future of Ethereum L2 Scalability and Security at ETH Taipei

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivered an opening speech at ETH Taipei this morning, elaborating on the future roadmap of Ethereum L2 scalability and security, with hopes of achieving a more efficient and faster transaction-confirming decentralized network.

L2 Scalability is a Key Breakthrough, but Should Not Compromise Security

Vitalik first pointed out that Ethereum is transitioning from a theoretical experiment to practical applications, and its L2 technology is at a significant turning point. Currently, millions of people use Ethereum for payments, savings, international remittances, and DeFi operations, with applications such as Farcaster and Worldcoin significantly boosting usage.

In this regard, he reiterated his belief:

Scalability should not sacrifice decentralization features, including openness, censorship-resistance, and security.
L1 scalability still needs improvement, but L2 can upgrade more rapidly.

(ETHTaipei｜Vitalik Looks Forward to Ethereum’s Merge with Bitcoin: Happy April Fool’s Day!)

Technical Blueprint: More Blobs, More Transactions, Lower Costs

Vitalik then shared the future blueprint of Ethereum, primarily focusing on “increasing the number of blobs and maximizing transaction efficiency while ensuring security”:

Increase the number of blobs (from 6 to 48, then to 512), raising TPS to tens of thousands.
Introduce a 2-of-3 security architecture (Optimistic + ZK + TEE) balancing security and immediacy.
Simplify the interaction time between Layer 2 and Layer 1 to 12 seconds or even shorter.

(ETH circulation returns to pre-The Merge levels! Blobs mechanism leads to insufficient destruction, making Ethereum more usable but ETH less satisfactory?)

Multiple Upgrades to Maximize Blob Space and TPS

He emphasized that in the coming years, Ethereum’s network will realize the vision of tens of thousands of TPS through multiple upgrades:

Petra Upgrade: Scheduled for implementation in April, increasing blob space from 3 to 6, and TPS from 200 to 400.
Futaba and Theodos Upgrades: Introducing data sharding, aiming to increase to 48 or even 512 blobs, with a potential of 50,000 TPS.

(Ethereum’s Petra upgrade lands on Holesky testnet, whales remain optimistic and continue to accumulate ETH)

Security Challenges and New Designs: 2-of-3 Model Architecture

Vitalik also stated that while the current operations of L2 may appear problem-free, challenges remain in code verification, complete trust, and lack of human intervention. He introduced the concept of “Stage 2,” suggesting that the security of L2 should derive entirely from its code itself, rather than external trust mechanisms.

He proposed integrating various technologies such as optimistic rollups, ZK rollups, and trusted execution environments (TEE) to create a one-third mechanism design, which can reduce single point failure risks and achieve truly secure L2:

Optimistic Rollups: More mature but has high latency
ZK Rollups: Fast but the technology is not yet mature
Trusted Execution Environment (TEE): Relies on hardware security assumptions

Through the “2-of-3 model”, any two of the three can confirm a transaction, achieving a balance between security and immediacy.

12 Seconds to Complete Cross-L2 Asset Transfers: Aggregated Proof as a Key Solution

Looking ahead, Vitalik hopes that L2 can interconnect like Ethereum sharding, allowing users to complete cross-L2 asset transfers within 12 seconds without relying on market makers or additional bridging protocols, and even supporting NFTs and other non-reproducible assets:

This will make L2 more native and fluid, truly “like Ethereum itself.”

Additionally, Vitalik pointed out that the current cost of submitting proofs to L1 is prohibitively high (tens of thousands of dollars), which is detrimental to the widespread development of L2. He suggested constructing an aggregated proof protocol to significantly reduce costs by merging the proofs of multiple L2s, wallets, and protocols, making L2 economically viable.

Looking to 2025: Achieving Ultra-Scalable and Secure Ethereum Ecosystem

Finally, Vitalik expressed confidence in the prospects of Ethereum over the next two years:

Expecting L2 to achieve near-instant withdrawals and scalability exceeding 100,000 TPS by 2025.
Long-term goal to replace Optimistic and TEE with ZK technology within 3 to 4 years, achieving mathematically provable complete security.

He concluded:

We are building an Ethereum ecosystem that does not compromise on security, censorship-resistance, or openness, while serving hundreds of millions of users.

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