Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined core principles for Layer 2 (L2) development, emphasizing maximum reliance on Ethereum's base layer security. In a July 15 social media post, Buterin urged developers to avoid redundant architecture and instead "reduce your logic to just being a sequencer and a prover" over core execution. This approach leverages Ethereum Layer 1's established security, censorship resistance, proofs, and data availability.
Buterin highlighted that this model achieves the "combination of trust minimization and efficiency" that enterprise blockchains failed to deliver in the 2010s. He specifically endorsed alt-L1 chains transitioning to Ethereum L2s, citing Celo's successful shift as a prime example. Post-transition, Celo reduced block times from 5 seconds to 1 second, halved inflation rates, and eliminated legacy code while integrating with Ethereum's developer ecosystem.
The Ethereum founder noted that grounding L2s in Ethereum's infrastructure provides critical user protection during L2 failures. His comments coincided with Ethereum's price surge of over 18% in 7 days, reclaiming the $3,000 level from a July 9 low of $2,580. Trading volume exceeded $30 billion during this rally, indicating strong market participation.